Go No More aRovin'
by toujourspret
Summary: AU adventure on the high seas! Rescued from the streets, Lelouch finds that life asea is more confusing than he could have ever dreamed.--Completed 4/22!
1. Thruppence

_Author's Note: So! I'm attempting another AU Code Geass fic! Not to fear, they're all their original genders in this one, haha. I even came up with the prompt all by myself this time! Anyway, please enjoy, and if you do, please drop me a line to let me know. Also! a warning: this chapter isn't M-rated, but the story will get a bit spicy (well, it's me writing it, after all). I guess that's more a warning for the "where is the sex?!" people than anything else, though, haha._

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**No More A-Rovin': Thruppence**

Half-frozen, Lelouch pondered his options. Only the night before, he'd been warm, snugly bedded against the fire-hot bricks of the kitchen hearth at the Pig and Whistle. Only the night before, he'd had the promise of another performance to fill his pocket, or at least another crust of bread to fill his belly. Only, the night before, the Pig's proprietor's wife had walked in while the man was trying to warm his hands before the fire--and under Lelouch's bed shirt. It didn't matter that he'd been fighting like a cat in water; he'd been chased from the pub with only the things he'd managed to grab while dodging the broom. He'd been lucky to snag his boots. He'd been unlucky enough to miss almost everything else. The cold wind tugged at the bottom of his bed shirt, threatening to expose him.

He sank to the cold stones miserably. By now, he imagined Nancy'd passed along the story of her ungrateful hussy of a boarder to everyone she knew. Of course Georges wouldn't have objected to the image painted of him as a slattern--it was better than letting it get around that he'd taken "payment" of a like kind no matter how much coin the violinist had brought the pub. That was the part that rankled the worst, Lelouch mused: the violin smashed on the fire, a thousand hours of music reduced to a moment of kindling. He stared at the pennywhistle in his hand and considered throwing it at the ground before the part of him that liked to eat rationalized that it was the only way he had to make money left to him.

'Not the _only_,' he considered, then frowned. Of course it wasn't even an option. He'd rather dance the Newgate jig for stealing before he let another pervert like Georges lay hands on him again. He could still feel the man's panting breath on his face, hot palms pawing at his thighs….

"--okay?" Lelouch turned toward the voice instinctively. A young sailor was standing over him, hand outstretched. He regarded it warily.

"Oh, come _on_, Suzaku. This one's off-hours, obviously," one of the sailor's companions sniggered, and Lelouch caught his meaning in the ribald gestures the other two shared. He hissed, recoiling from the hand before carefully pulling himself up. His joints were already stiff with cold and his teeth chattered as he stood, hand on his hip and arm cocked defiantly.

"Like a sailor lad could _afford_ a piece as fine as me!" Lelouch sneered. The sailors laughed then--all but the first, who was already shrugging out of his coat. The _whump_ of heavy fabric settling over his shoulders shook him from the glower he'd been throwing them. He blinked, turning to the man.

No, _boy_. Lelouch was startled to see that the sailor couldn't have been much older than him--maybe two years at best--but the coat over his shoulders bore the proud braid of a lieutenant. He fingered the gold trim suspiciously. The boy coughed.

"You looked cold," the boy said, a flush of embarrassment creeping over his cheeks.

"That's because it's cold outside," Lelouch said slowly, as if talking to a simpleton, ignoring the crude bantering about his lack of clothing by the other sailors.

"It is, isn't it?" The sailor grinned brightly, and Lelouch fought the urge to roll his eyes so hard they hurt. "C'mon," he added, offering his arm gallantly. "We were on our way to get something to eat. Why don't you join us? I'll pay."

One of the other sailors scoffed and another snickered. "Suzaku, we don't want to take the bang-tail to dinner with us," one of them complained. The sailor looked torn, and Lelouch reluctantly started to slide out of the coat. It really _was_ quite warm….

"Then I'll meet you back at the ship," Lelouch's sailor said evenly, pushing the fabric back up his arm as he did. Lelouch turned to stare at him. Grumbling, the sailors trailed away and the sailor turned back to him. He finally noticed the boy's skin was turning pale with cold and blushed. "Lead on," the boy said, again offering his arm. "I'm sure you know the best places to eat around here."

"I do," Lelouch agreed slowly. He just wasn't likely to be welcome at them. Biting his lip, he cautiously accepted the boy's arm. It was between leading him to one of the rat holes Black Dan owned or the nobs' pub up the hill, and either one would be uncomfortable: Nancy had always been too eager to show off her prize violinist as 'the draw that'll make Black Dan eat his hat', and running the risk of being caught by one of his father's friends at the nobs' made him feel sick. "You'll pay for my time, too, then?" he blurted suddenly. A bit of recompense might make it worth his time and effort. The sailor blinked at him.

"I didn't think you were really--" the boy started, and Lelouch cut him off, blushing to the tips of his ears.

"I'm not! I'm a musician, but I'm not about to lead you around town in my bed shirt out of the grace of my good heart," he grumbled, curling his arms around himself nervously. It'd be a matter of hours--if he was lucky it wasn't minutes--before it got back to Nancy that he was parading around town in his unders with a complete stranger. It certainly wasn't going to help his reputation any. The wool of the boy's coat scratched his wrists when he shoved the sleeves back.

When the boy nodded slowly, Lelouch let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "What are your rates for leading me around town in your bed shirt?" he asked, and Lelouch snorted despite himself.

"Sixpence an hour," he said, tilting his jaw defiantly.

"I could hire a real whore for that," the sailor replied, an eyebrow raised. Lelouch flushed.

"Half that, then: threepenny an hour, plus food." The sailor considered it and, to Lelouch's relief, nodded.

"Still a bit steep, but I'm sure you'll make it worth my while." The sailor grinned at the indignant but halfhearted glare Lelouch sent his way.

"I shall endeavor--"

"Lookit that," a painfully familiar voice cut in and he turned to look, even though he knew who it was. One of the Pig's regulars, Mack had always been too familiar, too close to the stage and too fresh with the serving girls. "I always did wonder how much it took to get Lord High and Mighty in the sack, an' come to find out it's three coppers and a warm meal. Well, that is after he's had is ears boxed for fooling with the lady of the house's husband, o'course."

Lelouch cringed hard, ducking his head away from the sailor. A warm hand on his shoulder surprised him and he looked up as he was pushed out of the way. A long, thin blade hung in the air between Mack and the boy.

"Now, now," Mack laughed. "I'm not wantin' any trouble. Just let me know when you're all done with him. I've been waitin' for my turn on that a while!" The sailor hissed in disgust and raised his sword in threat.

"Go. Away."

"Fine, fine. If you ask me, though, you're getting one hell of a deal. Don't break it trying to get your money's worth; there's others want a ride." Mack's leer as he laughed and walked away made Lelouch's knees go weak. The sailor was silent.

"…so." Lelouch hummed awkwardly, shrugging out of the coat reluctantly. It hung limp from his extended arm as the sailor looked at him. "I'll offer you a one-time-only get-out-of-your-contract-with-the-slut deal if you'll just take it and go." The sailor stared dumbly.

"But you'll be cold again."

"I can take care of myself," Lelouch bristled. "It's not like I wouldn't have been cold when you left after eating, anyway." The sailor shook his head, wrapping the heavy material around him again. "I'm not a pet to be coddled!" Lelouch insisted. "Why are you being so nice to me, anyway? You don't even know me."

"What's your name?" the sailor asked, cocking his head to the side. Startled, Lelouch told him. "Well then, I'm Suzaku. Now we know each other."

Lelouch's eyebrow twitched. "You get some kind of thrill from helping poor, destitute boys on the street?"

"You looked cold," Suzaku said simply. Lelouch huffed, grabbing his arm.

"Come on, Suzaku. Let's go get something to eat."

Forty minutes later left Lelouch and his sailor standing in the warm doorway of the King George, lingering in the warmth as twilight settled its chill over the city. Stomach full and contentedly warm, the musician was still snugly wrapped in the sailor's warm jacket and sleepily leaning against the wall.

"I'd better get back to the ship," Suzaku said sheepishly, scratching at his curls almost shyly. "We sail in the morning, and Captain said if we weren't back by the start of third watch, it wasn't his fault if he left us."

"Is is so terrible to be left behind here? We're a gracious enough port. Lots of booze and floozies," Lelouch teased, and Suzaku laughed brightly.

"And the occasional musician, no less! No," Suzaku turned serious, "I can't lose my position. The Britannian navy's been too good to me; nowhere else can a poor boy from the colonies expect to have anything, and the Emperor's given me a lot. I aim to see how high I can go before they remember I'm not one of you." Suzaku's chuckle was dark with self-mocking and Lelouch shifted uncomfortably.

"I suppose I should give this back, then," he said, stroking the gold braid on the coat fondly. "You'll need it to pin all your badges to."

"Wear it for now. At least until we get to wherever you're staying," Suzaku insisted and Lelouch flushed.

"I'd better give it to you now, then," he responded as casually as he could. "I don't know where I'll end up tonight, and I'd hate to wear something this fine in the gutters."

Suzaku goggled. "You're sleeping on the streets?"

Lelouch's stare was deadpan. "You think I'd spend what little money I have--after you give it to me, of course--on a bed? What kind of bed do you think I could find for three coppers? And then I'd be hungry _and_ cold tomorrow."

Frowning, Suzaku grabbed his arm, tugging him into the cold streets. "Wait a minute!" Lelouch called, struggling against his grip. "Where do you think you're taking me?"

"The ship," Suzaku said simply. Lelouch stared at the back of his head, tripping as his mind raced.

"The ship? Why?"

"You're not sleeping on the ground tonight, Lelouch. You look like a strong breeze could knock you over. You'd wake up in an anatomy lab tomorrow, looking at yourself inside out."

"Thanks for that gruesome thought, Suzaku. I _do_ have so much to look forward to these days, don't I?" Lelouch bumped into Suzaku as the sailor stopped, turning abruptly.

"I won't let it happen." Suzaku's eyes were fiercely green. Lelouch swallowed, looking away. "I won't."

Lelouch let him lead him through the harbor without protest. "Wha--" he squeaked, then started again. "What will going to the ship do?"

"I'll get you signed onto the books. There's got to be something you can do, something that needs fine hands and wit. Most of us don't have much of either," Suzaku said cheerfully. Warmth blossomed in the space between their clenched hands. The ship was a huge black wall along the dock, and Lelouch was surprised how many dark figures he saw moving around on the deck. He glanced at Suzaku, who squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Wait here. I'll be right back." Lelouch watched him disappear into a dark door. Long minutes passed until finally, Suzaku leaned over the rail and beckoned to him.

He'd been on a ship once before as a small child, but he'd never seen the deck by moonlight. He was immediately assaulted by how familiar it was, even made stark and shadowed at night, but didn't linger to look around. Suzaku was standing with a man and a woman, each more officious than the last. He bit back the urge to bow.

"This is Captain Gottwalt," Suzaku told him. The man in question quirked his mouth as if restraining a wry smile.

"Sir." Then Lelouch did bow. The woman snorted.

"What sort of talents do you have to offer, young man?" the Captain asked, raising an eyebrow as the wind whipped Lelouch's bed shirt around his knees. "Beyond, of course, an intriguing sense of fashion and moral decency."

Lelouch flushed, tilting his jaw with wounded pride. "Talents?"

"Yes, talents. Because my ship is a flagship of his Majesty's royal navy, and I do not seek to employ whores on my ship," Captain Gottwalt said crisply. "Can you splice a line? Cook? Which knots do you know? Can you read?"

"Read, sir?" Lelouch asked, confused. Of course he could read. His father would have had kittens if he hadn't at least learned that much from the expensive tutors he'd hired. "Yes, sir. I can read and speak in three languages and recite poetry in even more. I'm a musician, sir. A violinist."

"I don't see a violin," the woman cut in pointedly. "I see a whistle--the kind of cheap whistle penniless parents buy their children to amuse them and distract them from their poverty."

Lelouch's fists clenched. "I'm not penniless." Suzaku started as Lelouch pointed at him. "That man owes me thruppence."

The Captain spoke over the woman's mocking laughter. "You learn quickly? This isn't the sort of ship where layabouts can get by on others' hard work. One mistake might kill you, and if it doesn't, I might." Lelouch gulped, nodding. "Good. Kururugi, take him to the ship's store and get him outfitted. He can't get in the rigging in that; he'd tangle his foot and end up giving the boys a show I'm not willing to pay for. We do represent the Emperor, after all."

Suzaku beamed gratefully at the man, and Lelouch had only the barest chance to nod his thanks before the boy dragged him below deck.


	2. Haul Away Joe

_Author's Note: Normally, I'm pretty leery to post a chapter in such quick succession (since the other was only the other day, after all), but I figured since I had it written.... I can't promise that future updates will be this quick, but I'll post a note to my profile if they're ever going to take longer than a week._

_And of course, thank you all for the lovely reviews! I honestly appreciate every one of them, and hope that I can live up to your kind words! There are a couple of links on my profile if you'd like to hear the song sung in this chapter._

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**Go No More A-Rovin': Haul Away Joe**

"And then you just…no, no, you twist it like…." Suzaku huffed in irritation. "Look, maybe there's something you can do that's easier for you." Reaching down to take the rope back, he jerked his hand back sharply as Lelouch stabbed at him with his own marlin spike.

"I'll get it right. Shut up and let me focus." Peering down at the fragments of rope unraveling in his hands, Lelouch couldn't help but stare at the red blisters raising where he'd been twisting and twining the hemp. Picking at the rope, he managed to finally wiggle the strands into place and beamed at Suzaku triumphantly. The other boy picked up the finished splice and turned it in his hands thoughtfully, then pulled at both ends. The splice dissolved into a loose tangle of fibers. Lelouch swore.

"Suzaku getting on your nerves?" a new voice asked brightly from nearby. Lelouch blinked into the sunlight at the sailor, frowning. He was still learning who was who on the ship, and this one was Gino. Helplessly wealthy, Gino's parents had bought his position as midshipman, but it was the man's own talents and general air of likeability that had gotten him his braid. Lelouch considered him as near a friend as Suzaku.

"Yes." Lelouch's tone was firm and Gino's eyes sparkled with laughter. "Save me, my valiant rescuer."

"I don't know about rescuer, but I'm pretty valiant," Gino said cockily. "Captain wants you over by the capstan. We're finally moving on; he wants to test your pipes." Lelouch paused, glancing at Suzaku, who nodded encouragingly.

The first time he'd heard the men raise their voices in song, it had startled him. There was a surprising number of fine voices mixed in the lot, but without a leader, the song'd drifted wildly, barely related to the steady stamping of feet as they'd worked. His fingers had itched for his violin but found his whistle instead, and after listening for a minute he'd picked the simple tune with ease. Apparently a musician on board was better than gold, and a good musician worth even more.

At the capstan, Captain Gottwalt was waiting with an appraising eye. Bos'n Nu was more to the point: "What have you learned so far, lazing around listening?" Lelouch sputtered.

"What do you want me to sing?" he asked, ignoring the barely suppressed snickering of the crew.

"Well," she started, her tone implying all sorts of things about his mental capabilities. "Sometimes--maybe you've noticed--we sing different songs. This is because we're doing something different. We're at the capstan; what do we sing at the capstan?" The sailors laughed and Lelouch winced and nodded. She waited, then gestured impatiently at a barrel nearby. He scrambled to the top and took a deep breath.

"Now we are ready to head for the Horn--" he started, waiting for the response. None came. The sailors stared at him, many grinning. He turned to the bos'n, who waved him on. Frowning, he started over. "Now we are ready to head for the Horn, way-hey roll and go. The anchor's on board and the cables all stored, to me--"

The deafening response almost startled him from his perch: "Rolickin' randy dandy-o!" Relieved, he managed to work his way through the rest of the song without much trouble, to the bos'n's grumpy satisfaction and the captain's mysterious humor. The job done, the sailors moved from their positions around the wheel to the rigging, leaving the three of them standing there.

"You didn't understand why they weren't singing with you the first time," Captain Gottwalt said. It was a statement, but not accusatory.

"Not really, sir," Lelouch admitted, studiously ignoring the bos'n's rolled eyes.

" 'To me'. It's not just a lyric in a song, you know. It means something--it's a plea for help. Take it as a lesson: we sailors are simple men; we rarely say things that don't have meaning. Even when singing." With a nod, the Captain walked off to speak with another sailor and Lelouch let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"That was great!" Suzaku enthused when he sat back down, toying idly with the remnants of rope. "The boys got really into it. Your voice is amazing."

Huffing with irritation, Lelouch stabbed his borrowed marlin spike into the rope viciously. "I can't do anything right here. I didn't even know what the hell I was saying when I was singing that song. What's a randy dandy-o, anyway?"

Suzaku covered his hands, gently lifting the tool away from them to pick apart the end of one rope and deftly weave it into the other. After a moment, he shrugged. "I don't know. Does everything have to make sense for you to like it?"

"I'd rather not be some useless pretty face on deck while everyone else works, though," Lelouch sighed, taking the rope in hand. He tugged at either end, but the join held.

Suzaku snorted. "Trust me, Bos'n Nu isn't likely to let that happen. You just haven't found your fit yet. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Not right now, anyway. We're still in the golden days of this trip yet; tempers won't start to flare for another few days at least. You've got plenty of time to figure out what you're supposed to be doing, especially if you can belt a song like that."

Lelouch's face warmed. "Thanks." He sighed again, trying to emulate Suzaku's easy movements as he joined the rope. "At least teach me what I'm saying when I sing that one?" Suzaku's eyes glittered.

"Well, first of all, we're not headed to the Horn, for one thing. That's way on the other side of the world, you know. We're off to the West Indies, not the East."

"What?" Lelouch cried in dismay. "No wonder they were laughing at me!"

"No, no!" Suzaku laughed, reaching out to test Lelouch's rope. He had to strain, but it came apart. "It's okay, I promise. We sing that one no matter where we're going. There are a couple that we don't sing except for something special, but I'll warn you about those."

"Good," Lelouch said decisively, nodding. "Now, what's a pawl?"

"A pawl is--"

"Songbird!" Gino greeted, pulling himself onto the rail beside them. "I heard you'd impressed the captain."

"Really?" Lelouch wondered. "He didn't seem all that impressed."

"He didn't tell you to stick to the whistle, at least," Suzaku offered. Gino made an offended noise.

"That was a long time ago!" the blond man complained.

"And my ears still ring from it," Suzaku retorted. Lelouch laughed, and before long the three of them were laughing breathless against the rail.

"You _are_ much better than I was," Gino admitted. "My music tutor would be horrified that a street player has a better ear for tone than me."

"Don't begrudge me that," Lelouch said as he worked a strand of rope through his hands. "It's pretty much the only thing I've got on my side."

"Oh, I doubt that," a voice cut in smoothly. Captain Gottwalt held out his hand and Lelouch blinked at him before dutifully handing over his rope. He winced at its appearance. Lumpy and uneven, it probably would have been more graceful to just tie a knot instead. The captain tested it, leather gloves creaking as he pulled on both ends. "Very nice job. Sturdy."

"It's ugly as sin," Lelouch blurted, then bit his lip. Gottwalt laughed lowly.

"Usually it's the ugly things that work more than the pretty ones. Though there are a few exceptions," he said, eyes strangely focused on him. "The cook wants a boy to help in the kitchen with the basic chores. Do you think that might be a better fit?" Lelouch could feel his gaze on the blisters raised by the rope and nodded awkwardly. "Good. You'll start tomorrow. Kururugi?"

"Yes, sir?" Suzaku perked up, head bobbing obediently.

"We'll be making port in Trinidad. He'll have a bit of coin in his pocket. You keep him out of trouble." Gottwalt turned to Lelouch, "Every sailor makes a mistake on his first port. You'll be no different." He turned back to Suzaku, pointing. "No more strays."

As he left, Gino pulled a face at his back. "Dry man. Loves his job, though. Man, _Trinidad_! We haven't stopped in Trinidad in ages! I can just see those brown-skinned beauties now…."

"I think that's Bos'n Nu you're looking at, Gino," Lelouch reminded him. Suzaku snickered. "But Trinidad," Lelouch asked. "How far away is that?"

"Oh, we're a ways away yet. Weeks, at least," Gino said. Suzaku nodded. "And when we get there, the leave'll pass so quick it'll feel like an hour."

"What's Trinidad like?" Lelouch asked. Gino's expression took on a misty look.

"Beautiful. Almost as good as Maui. The air's so clear you can see thirty miles in either direction, and the water's bottle green. Trinidad's got the best pubs in the whole world, filled with pretty girls and lots of drink so fine it doesn't give you a sore head the next day." Gino's cheeks were flushed.

"You've got a girl there!" Lelouch realized, crowing. Suzaku laughed. Gino hummed in agreement.

"My pretty little barmaid. I haven't seen her since the last time we were on this route last winter."

"What's she like?" Lelouch asked curiously. Suzaku grinned and made a pose of swoony lovesickness, squawking when Gino punched his arm.

"I can't describe her in any justice. I'll just have to introduce you when we get there," Gino told him, irrepressible smile still stretched across his face. "Oh, she's something, though."

Lelouch puffed with contentment, flopping down onto his back. The wide blue sky was an open expanse above him, and he traced the paths of thin white clouds as they drifted overhead. "It's amazing," he hummed to himself, bemused. "Just when I think things are finally done and it's all going to end, my knight in shining armor comes and makes it all better than I could have ever dreamed."

Suzaku's face appeared overhead, smiling. Lelouch smiled back, shifting aside to make room for his friend as they watched the sky float by.


	3. Wind in the Rigging

_Author's Note: Ah, this one took a while to write! I'm having a lot of fun with this fic, but sometimes the research takes a little bit, haha. As always, thank you for the lovely reviews (and please feel free to leave any notes about things you like/dislike about this one, as it helps me a lot!) and notes for this chapter are in my profile._

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**Go No More A-rovin': Wind in the Rigging**

"Out, out!" Lelouch yelped, swatting at Suzaku where he lounged against the galley's only cutting table. "You are in. the. way."

"Oh, come on. I want to see how you're doing it. Everyone knows Cookie's a stone-cold drunk and only took the job to be the one to give out the rum rations, but somehow there's edible food coming out of this pit. I want to see how you do it," Suzaku insisted, peering over Lelouch's shoulder playfully. His hand was warm in the small of Lelouch's back as he shifted the boy playfully.

"It's a magic summoning spell that calls food from somewhere else, when we all know that the only things this kitchen is capable of making are glue and weevilly biscuits," Gino supplied from the door.

"Don't you layabouts have anything else you're supposed to be doing?" Lelouch demanded, elbowing Suzaku out of his way to get to the pot boiling on the hearth. "Watches to be running, decks to be scrubbing, bos'ns to be annoying?"

"Last one sounds about right for me," Gino offered, "but Suzaku here's just come off watch and insisted we visit before anything else."

"Just off watch?" Lelouch frowned. "Shouldn't you be in bed? Hammock, rather?"

Suzaku shrugged coolly, bringing his face close to peer into the pot. "What's that, another fish stew?"

"You'll regret that at eight bells, you know. It'll be time for you to get to work and you'll be snoring in your berth and Nu will drag you out of bed by your earlobes. Maybe even just one; she doesn't seem to like you much."

"Like you wake up at eight bells!" Suzaku teased. "I've seen you: the bells ten minutes past and every man up and gone already, and you lolling around in that bed shirt like a prince."

"It's performance hours," Lelouch responded stiffly, scraping at the side of the pot with an enormous spoon. "I wouldn't get to bed until nearly that late, and not be up until after noon."

"Decadent," Gino remarked. "I miss a day like that every so often."

"There's more worth in getting up at eight bells," Lelouch said softly, back straight as he puttered around, adding pinches of this or that to the stew. He turned back, raising an eyebrow at Suzaku, "--but only if you're not just getting to bed!"

Suzaku grinned, holding his hands up in defeat. "Fine, fine. I get the point: go to bed. I'll be back before the first dog, though."

"I guess if I can't stop you," Lelouch replied, feigning irritation. "Go. Sleep." Still grinning, Suzaku ambled out of the narrow room, stretching his arms over his head as he yawned. Shaking his head in barely repressed amusement, Lelouch turned back to Gino. "I don't envy you, having to keep him in line."

"He's gotten worse since you got here," Gino informed him, reaching around to dip a spoon in the pot. Lelouch elbowed him playfully, laughing when Gino swore, sucking hot soup from his thumb with a baleful expression.

"It's because there's someone new to annoy, I suppose?" Lelouch peeled off his apron, hanging it on a hook nearby, and gestured for Gino to join him at the small table built into the wall.

"Maybe," Gino hummed in agreement, inspecting the burnt digit in the lamplight. "He's always had a bad habit of picking up strays, though. He likes having something to take care of." Glancing up, he took in Lelouch's thunderstruck expression and smiled. "It may not seem like it, but having you here is really good for him. You focus him; otherwise he'd be spending all his time hassling the cats. With you here, he's had significantly fewer teeth marks in him than usual."

Lelouch snorted. "It's just like him to keep messing with something until it bites him." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small container. "Not the sense that God gave a flea," he mused, scooping a thick paste from the container. At Gino's look, he lifted the paste to Gino's nose. "Got it from the loblolly boy. You'd be surprised how many ways you can hurt yourself in a kitchen this small and unequipped."

Nodding, Gino watched Lelouch's thin hands move over his own. "Twice the heart of any man I've ever known, though," he said absently, flexing his burned thumb as the cream started working. Lelouch frowned, tugging Gino's hand back to wrap it with muslin.

"Why did he help me, though?" he asked.

"He can't help it. He's instinctively drawn to pathetic creatures." Gino winced as Lelouch tied the muslin tight.

"Pathetic?" Lelouch asked, tone deceptively sweet.

Gino nodded, then froze. "Ah, no, no. Not pathetic," he corrected, backing up. "Um, downtrodden. No, ah--" he blinked, looking at the ceiling for the least offensive words, "Helpless? Er, no, not helpless…. Please don't hurt me."

Lelouch stepped closer. Gino backed away. Lelouch stepped closer. Gino backed away, throwing his hands up. Lelouch glared, then collapsed into laughter. "You're too easy, Gino!"

Shrinking back in relief, Gino sighed. "It's just that you're really scary for such a scrawny guy."

"Scrawny?!"

The bell rang and Gino yelped, dashing to the door. "Sorry! Gotta get to work; bye!" he called over his shoulder as Lelouch stuck his head out the door. Confused sailors watched the lieutenant go, blinking in confusion at Lelouch, who shrugged.

Three hours later, he was daydreaming by the hearth, enjoying the last few slow minutes before the dogs started and sailors began to file in for their dinner, when Suzaku came back. He was startled by the press of the sailor's head against his thigh when Suzaku curled up next to his leg. He peered down at him.

"Sleepy," Suzaku offered in explanation, closing his eyes to nuzzle against him. Lelouch froze, unused to physical contact, before tentatively resting a hand on the curly head. Suzaku purred as he automatically stroked through his hair, scratching gently.

"It's because you were messing around instead of sleeping," Lelouch admonished. Suzaku hummed in sleepy acquiescence, and Lelouch rolled his eyes, petting his friend like a cat. "You're incorrigible."

"Mm-hmm," Suzaku nodded.

They sat together for a minute longer, until Cook's knock at the door brought them back to where they were. Coughing, Lelouch pushed Suzaku away and stood, reaching for his apron.

"Time to feed the boys," Cook said, voice unsteady. Lelouch huffed in irritation as the man poured himself into a chair and made no move to help move the heavy pot from the hearth.

"Suzaku, help please?" he asked, tying on his apron. Suzaku nodded, and before they knew it, they were buried in hungry shipmates. When the first watch had finally been fed and Lelouch had prepared for the second, they finally collapsed at the end of one of the empty tables. Suzaku sighed, flexing his arms against the stress of repeated ladling. Lelouch cast him a sideways grin, laying a bowl in front of him and poking a spoon in the broth. "Eat."

"Aye, sir!" Suzaku retorted brightly.

After the first watch was gone, Suzaku helped him clean up. Cook was asleep by the fire when they finished, Lelouch wiping his hands on his apron. He jumped when Suzaku rubbed his hands down the front of his apron, turning in surprise.

"Not going to wipe it on my own clothes," Suzaku said cheekily, grabbing his hand. "C'mon, let's go up."

Lelouch stared at their joined hands before nodding and pulling his hand free. "Lead on." Suzaku brightened, leading him through the ship and up the stairs to the deck. Lelouch balked as he started up the ropes, then frowned and took Suzaku's extended hand.

"It's okay. I won't let you fall," Suzaku said, and it shouldn't have been as comforting as it was, but he couldn't stop himself from believing it wholly. Still, when they settle on the top, Lelouch felt swoony to look down at the deck. Suzaku pulled him back from the rail by the shoulders, pressing him to the boards. His heart skipped a beat.

"You're looking the wrong way," Suzaku murmured quietly, and Lelouch turned to look at where his friend lay. Suzaku chuckled, poking him in the side. "No, look up." He did.

The night sky was a perfect, dark, inky black with no lights but the lamps below them to spoil its clearness. All the way to the edges of the horizon, thousands of stars he'd never seen before glittered above them as if they'd been put there just for the two of them to enjoy. "Suzaku," he said breathlessly, "It's beautiful."

"I knew you'd like it," Suzaku replied, a smile in his voice. Lelouch bit his lip, turning to face him.

"Suzaku," he asked, heart throbbing in his throat, "Why have you been so kind to me?" Blinking, Suzaku rolled over. Lelouch powered on, "I mean, when we first met, you were so nice, even though you thought I was a prostitute. Are you this wonderful to every stray you pick up? How many strays _have_ you picked up?" He bit his lip at the twinge of jealousy that flared up.

"Wonderful?" Suzaku breathed. "I…Lelouch…." He cleared his throat when the words wouldn't come, and when they failed him again, he put his hand to Lelouch's face, cupping his jaw line to rub his thumb against a high cheekbone. Lelouch's pulse fluttered like a small bird's as he leaned in, weathered lips dragging against smooth ones. They caught, pursing and falling away before returning. His fingers sank into the black silk of the boy's hair as he pulled closer, the tip of his tongue coming out to flick against his upper lip.

Lelouch shoved him away, making a sound like a startled animal. His chest heaved as he stared at Suzaku across the gulf that had suddenly opened between them. When Suzaku reached for him again, he flinched. Suzaku looked wounded.

"What's the matter, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked. He seemed genuinely confused when Lelouch stared at him incredulously.

"Have you forgotten that I'm a boy?" Lelouch demanded. Suzaku shook his head dumbly. "Then have you forgotten that you're one, too? We can't--I don't--that is--" Lelouch spluttered, hands knotting into fists in his lap.

"I like you, Lelouch," Suzaku whispered, reaching to pull one of Lelouch's hands into his own and working it out of its clench. Lelouch shook his head.

"It's wrong."

"How is it wrong if you like me, too? You do like me, don't you?" Suzaku asked, tilting to look into his eyes as Lelouch hung his head, nodding reluctantly.

"I do. God help me, I do," he admitted. "But we can't. We just _can't_."

"Why not?"

"Because what if someone finds out?" Lelouch asked wildly, desperation in his voice. "What if we get caught and they hurt us? If they hurt you, because I'm too feminine and guys can't help wanting me? I'm practically like a woman, anyway--at least if you ask half the men I've ever known," he added bitterly.

"First: you aren't a woman. You may not be very strong, and you may sew rather well and cook really fantastically and have a singing voice that puts angels to shame--er, wait. You're not a woman?" Suzaku faked confused well until Lelouch punched his arm, laughing. He caught Lelouch's hand in both of his, leaning in to press their foreheads together. "Lelouch. It'll be okay. We can be careful. No one will catch us, I promise."

Sighing, Lelouch let him steal another quick kiss before pulling away. "Please. Let me think about it?"

Suzaku watched him escape from the rail, thumping his head against the wood as Lelouch disappeared beneath the deck, fleeing.


	4. A Jolly Good Mate

_Author's Note: It's another quick update! Hooray! And we're closer to the sex, double hooray! Joking aside, I hope that you guys don't think I've been rushing through the romance part of the story; trust me when I say there's a lot more plot that I haven't really touched yet.  
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_I've been thinking of reposting, but truth be told, I don't actually know where fic goes for this fandom outside of and the kink meme! Does anyone have any recommendations for getting into the fandom? I do rather like LJ...._

_And of course, thank you thank you thank you for the reviews, as always! I hope you enjoy, and chapter notes are in my profile as usual._

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**Go No More A-roving: A Jolly Good Mate**

"It's a whale, I think," Gino said, pointing. Lelouch threw him a disgusted look.

"It's _clearly_ a snail," he corrected the blond man. "See?" he asked, trailing a swirl in the air with a fingertip, following an invisible whorl along the cloud's back. "Snail."

"I think it's a cat," Suzaku offered. "See how the tail goes like this," he gestured, following the same path Lelouch had followed earlier, "around the body?"

"Well, if you're going to say that, it kind of looks like an anch--" Gino's hand slapped over Lelouch's mouth.

"No, it doesn't!" Suzaku cried, rapping on the wood around them fervently. Lelouch's eyes were wide with confusion when Gino released him.

"No, but it does! See, when you--" Suzaku cut him off with a stern shake of his head.

"No. It does not," Suzaku said, tone of voice sharp. "It looks nothing like that thing you're saying it looks like."

"An ancho--" Lelouch cut off as Gino threatened to cover his mouth again. "What?" he snapped peevishly. "Why can't I say that it looks like that thing it so clearly looks like that you won't let me say for some probably idiotic reason?"

"Because you'll be _invoking_ it!" Gino scolded. "It doesn't look like that thing because we don't want any of those things anywhere near the ship, even if it is just made of clouds."

Lelouch stared at him. When he didn't blink, he turned to Suzaku, who nodded. "…are you kidding?" Lelouch asked tiredly, rubbing between his eyes. "Big, strong, manly sailors are afraid of…clouds?"

"We're not afraid of _clouds_," Suzaku said defensively. "We're afraid of fouled--er. Those things. The ones we're not going to talk about because the clouds certainly don't look like them."

"Ugh," Lelouch groaned, slumping back to the boards. Humming, he arched into their sun-baked head and let his lashes drift lazily. "You sailors have the weirdest superstitions." Suzaku made an offended noise but lay back down as well, kicking an ankle up onto the rail between him and pointing at a cloud with his toe.

"Well, that one looks like Pendragon castle."

Lelouch cracked an eye open to consider the cloud. "It's missing a few turrets."

"Really?" Suzaku asked absently, ticking the tip of his boot like a metronome.

"He's right," Gino supplied helpfully. "It's missing the whole west wing, looks like. Sharp of you to notice." Lelouch stared hard at the cloud before rolling over to face Gino.

"There's so much I don't understand about being a sailor," he told the blond, propping himself up on an elbow. Beside Gino, Suzaku sat up, cocking his head in question.

"Like the superstitions?" Suzaku asked. "They're not too difficult, really, but there's a lot of--"

"Like what the rules are," Lelouch said quickly, turning his eyes seaward. "Like, why doesn't Nu dine with the Captain, if they're together?" Suzaku made a choking sound. Gino arched a brow and laughed lightly.

"They're not. That's fraternization; they could get in serious trouble for it," Gino told him. "Nu's not allowed to "_know"_ any of the sailors on board, no matter which ones might want it."

Biting his lip, Lelouch considered this. "But what about the Captain? If he wants a relationship with someone other than Nu, is that okay?"

Gino was silent. When Lelouch turned to look at him, he was blushing brightly. He slowly shook his head. "N-no, he can't do that, either. No man on this ship is allowed to fraternize with another sailor on board."

"Oh," Lelouch mused, sinking back to look at the clouds, ignoring Suzaku's pointed stare. "They send you ashore, then, huh?"

Gino grabbed his arm tightly, and Lelouch blinked at his serious expression. "If you're lucky. If you're not…." he trailed off, eyes worried. Below them, the bell rang. Turning reluctantly to the rail, Gino paused in thought. "I…the Captain seems to like you, though. Maybe you've got a shot?" He laughed nervously, clasping Lelouch's arm affectionately. "If you're going to, maybe wait until Trinidad, though. If he won't have you, he can send you off without too much trouble. Just…be careful, okay?" With a saucy wink, he darted over the rail, leaving behind his stunned friends.

When his eyes met Lelouch's, Suzaku broke down into laughter, tears of mirth streaming down his face. Lelouch scowled, crossing his arms as he waited. "Better than suspecting the truth!" he reminded Suzaku.

"Why?" Suzaku frowned. "You think Gino would hurt us for it? You think he'd spread gossip about us? You should know better than that by now."

"There's no such thing as a secret between three people," Lelouch hissed back, ire growing. "No matter how much you trust him, the fact remains that he doesn't exactly have a whole lot of reasons to keep a secret like that to himself."

"I can't believe you'd talk about him like that!" Suzaku cried. "He trusts _you_."

Lelouch sighed wearily. "And I trust him. I do, honestly, but I wouldn't feel safe knowing there was someone out there with that kind of secret on me."

"He wouldn't use it against you," Suzaku swore earnestly. Groaning, Lelouch thumped the boards with the heel of his hand. "What _now_?" Suzaku's irritation was nearly palpable.

"You know, you act a lot like I've already said I'd sleep with you if it weren't for the danger of it. I remember telling you I'd think about it, but it's like it's a foregone conclusion with you," Lelouch accused. Suzaku froze, a wounded expression flitting across his face before his eyes hardened.

"Well, don't you think you owe me something for saving your life, after all?" he asked coolly. Lelouch gawped at him. Suzaku continued meanly, "What do you think it's worth, finding a safe, warm place for you to live? You'd have spread your legs a hundred times by now for other men; why am I so different?"

Lelouch shivered, backing away to the rail. "If you have to ask that, I--" He cut off sharply, the rest of his thought escaping as he looked at the sailor. "You just--"

He didn't remember clambering back over the side of the top or shimmying down the ropes to the deck. Finding himself below decks, he started toward the berth before he stopped, doubling back, wandering through the ship until he found a corner in the hold as dark as his mood.

"Stupid Suzaku," he muttered, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes until the red spots distracted him from the burning tingle. "I don't know what I thought I was expecting, but way to underwhelm _all_ of my ideas. Jerk." Slumping against the ship's wall, he let the sound of the sea echoed in his blood lull him into an uneasy sleep.

Hours later, he jerked awake, knocking his head against the wood with a start. It was black as tar in the hold, and he could hear something shuffling around in the dark. His heart skipped a beat until he recognized the flickering light of a lamp.

"Lelouch?" a voice called. It sounded like Suzaku, and Lelouch contemplated diving deeper into the cargo to hide when another voice spoke up.

"Suzaku, what are we doing down here?" It was one of the sailors that had been with Suzaku when they'd first met: Luciano. "Why would he be down here? Why are we even looking for him, anyway?"

"I just think this is where he'd be," Suzaku insisted stubbornly, swinging the lantern.

"Well, I'm going back to bed. It's his own fault if he wants to skive off on his duties and take a nap in the hold, anyway. The captain'll probably send him off in Trinidad," Luciano sneered. Lelouch listened to the heavy thump of his boots retreating and sighed, leaning against the wood again. It made sense; he couldn't tell how long he'd been asleep, but judging by the crick in his neck, it had been at least a watch and a half. He'd have missed the first dog by now, surely. Anyone who didn't work was worse than useless, and to skip out on pretty much the only thing he had to offer was bound to be a one-way ticket ashore.

Mired in thought, he didn't notice Suzaku until the lantern was in his face, Suzaku's concerned face illuminated behind it. A relieved smile broke across the sailor's features as Lelouch squinted into the light. "Lelouch!" Suzaku cheered, fingertips skittering across Lelouch's cheek as if he didn't believe his eyes. "I'm so glad I found you."

"I was here all along," Lelouch groused halfheartedly, tipping his face into Suzaku's reverent touch. "You didn't need to worry about me."

"I couldn't help it," Suzaku admitted bashfully. "I…the things I said…." The memory of it hit Lelouch like a hammer and he paled, pulling away. Suzaku followed, earnestly apologizing. "I was wrong. I was so, so wrong, Lelouch! I shouldn't have--" Lelouch pulled away, the corners of his mouth tugged down in a frown. Suzaku stroked at his hair, moving even closer to pin him against the side of the ship. "You don't owe me anything, Lelouch."

"Damn right I don't," Lelouch bit out. Suzaku's head bobbed repentantly. Lelouch relented, leaning up to nuzzle against him. "Don't do it again, idiot."

Suzaku shot back, eyes wide. "L-Lelouch, I thought--you said that--"

"I said I'd think about it," Lelouch reminded him gently. "I have thought about it; I don't want to not like you. You've been so wonderful to me these few months, and I _do_ like you. I know it's dangerous, and I know it's stupid, and I know it's a terrible, bad idea, but I want to try, anyway."

Suzaku's grin seemed ready to split his face. He nodded sharply, eyes twinkling in the dark as Lelouch reached up to cup the back of his head. Their lips met slowly, exploring, and when they pulled apart, their breath was heavy.

"I'd better get back to the galley," Lelouch breathed reluctantly, pulling away. Suzaku followed, stealing a kiss even as he pulled the musician to his feet.

"Just visit the surgeon. Tell him you were sick and have the loblolly pass a note to Cookie," Suzaku suggested, tugging him into his arms to mouth the cords of his throat.

"And you? You just happened to come down with the same mysterious illness?" Lelouch asked playfully, pulling Suzaku's mouth away by his hair. "And how will that explain the strangely amorous bruising?"

"You were cooking a squid with love in its eye, and I was injured fighting it off of you," Suzaku offered, puffing his chest with pride. Lelouch poked him, laughing.

As they walked back to the berth, their hands drifted together as if there were magnets between them. Checking to make sure the area was empty, Suzaku bent to press a lingering kiss against his lips. "I'll talk to the surgeon for you," he offered, smoothing a hand over Lelouch's forehead and rumpling his hair. Lelouch cast him a baleful look and smoothed it back down, climbing into his hammock suddenly strangely overwhelmed. His eyelids sank closed and he drifted, buoyed by pleasant dreams.


	5. Mark Well What I Do Say

_Author's Note: Finally earning that M rating! Haha. As always, chapter notes are included in my profile. If you've come across something that needs a bit of explanation (particularly in reference to life aboard the ship), please check there, as there are some fun and interesting links for info there. _

_Also! I've had some really fantastic reviews so far, and I thank each of you for your kind words and especially for reading. I'd probably still write it if no one were reading, but it's nice to know that someone is, haha. I'm sorry this chapter is so short; when I came to the ending, it just seemed the natural place to stop. Hopefully the next will be longer, as a lot happens very soon!_

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**Go No More A-roving: Mark Well What I Do Say**

Furtive lips brushed against his the moment the galley's door closed behind him. Arms wrapped around his middle and he turned, fixing Suzaku with a mock glare. "What happened to being discreet?" Lelouch asked, poking him in the chest. Suzaku grinned, not repentant in the least.

"So you don't mind if I stop, then?" Suzaku asked playfully, nipping at his throat. Sighing, Lelouch wrapped his arms around Suzaku's neck, nuzzling against him. "I didn't think so." His triumphant grin was almost audible in his voice, and Lelouch rolled his eyes, biting the tender flesh beneath his lips. Suzaku's smug smile shattered into a moan.

The hinges on the galley door rattled when Lelouch's weight hit them, the wood groaning as the musician braced against them and wrapped his legs around Suzaku's waist. He moaned at the press of Suzaku's body against him, and Suzaku chuckled.

"So indiscreet," Suzaku whispered in his ear, voice rough and breathy.

"Shut up," Lelouch retorted, arching. Suzaku laughed again, breaking off when Lelouch whined, trailing kisses up the side of his throat as he thrust a hand between their bodies. It was Lelouch's turn to laugh at the stunned, nearly cross-eyed expression. His fingers tangled with the laces at the front of Suzaku's pants and the sailor whimpered.

"Yes, sir!" Suzaku stammered, shifting to brace their weight on one hand. The door rattled again and Lelouch shoved at his chest, moving to stand on wobbly legs as he guided Suzaku to the table. Hoisting himself onto the rough wooden surface, he pulled Suzaku's lips back to his own by the nape of his neck. Their mouths slid against each other as he clung to Suzaku, one hand deftly working on the laces between them. Finally the knots fell loose and he darted his hand inside.

Warmth. The heat was immediate, trapped in the moist confines and the rough curls against his wrist and the smooth, slick skin. Suzaku's head fell against his shoulder as he gently pulled him shivering into the air. Lelouch made a pleased sound at the heft of it in his palm. He could smell the sailor's arousal on the back of his tongue. Suzaku shuddered when he licked his lips.

"We don't have time for some slow thing," Lelouch warned shakily, already thumbing the slit at the end, playing with the sticky wetness at the tip. Suzaku nodded, biting his lip.

"Can you…," he squeaked, blushing furiously, "…that thing with your…?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow and he flushed deeper. "Your mouth. I want your mouth," Suzaku managed.

Glancing at the door, Lelouch counted how long it had been since he'd seen Cookie. Half an hour, and he'd just been sitting down with a ration and a half of rum. First dog was another watch and a half away; there really wasn't anyone that would have any reason to come through that door. He nodded, slipping easily to his knees.

Wrapping a hand around the base, Lelouch grinned up the length of Suzaku's body to the sailor's flushed face and blown pupils. "Remember, you have to be _really_ quiet," he purred, tongue darting out to taste the musky skin above his fingers. Suzaku made a soft, strained noise as he teased the head with the tip of his tongue.

One of the best parts of giving in to this--and Lelouch wasn't about to admit to Suzaku that he liked this almost as much as the sailor did--was the way his body reacted. Beneath his fingertips, Suzaku's tightly muscled thighs went weak and shaky as a child's. His hand drifted reverently to the back of Lelouch's head, fingers curling loosely in the silky black hair.

Drawing back, Lelouch mouthed his way down the vein to Suzaku's balls, laving the skin with the flat of his tongue. He buried his nose in the crease between groin and hip, relishing the sounds Suzaku made as he wrapped one palm around him, jerking quickly. Legs going weak, Suzaku groaned, reaching with one hand to steady himself on the table. His knuckles were white as he clenched, abdomen leaping. Lelouch hummed, fingertips pressing hard at the base and he was coming, jets of white splashing against the floor as Lelouch moved aside. Long, slender fingers leisurely stroked him, milking the last of his release, and he sagged bonelessly against the table.

Lelouch looked like the cat that swallowed the canary as he climbed to his feet, licking at Suzaku's mouth languidly. His cock was still hard, pressed into Suzaku's hip, hot and eager. When Suzaku reached for him, he shook his head, brushing his hand away. "Later," Lelouch murmured against his lips, grinding against him. "When we've got more time." Smirking over his shoulder, he headed over to the kitchen to check the pot--ostensibly his reason for entering in the first place.

"When?" Suzaku asked, palming him from behind as he wrapped his arms around the slender boy.

"Last watch. You're off tonight, right? The boys'll be asleep and Cookie will be dead to the world. I'll have you all to myself for _hours_."

Suzaku grinned at that, nibbling at his ear before loosening himself from the boy. "And I'll have you all to myself, too."

"Will you?" Lelouch asked playfully, turning to face him. "And what will you do with we once you have?"

Suzaku's eyes darkened and he stepped closer, capturing Lelouch's lips in a lingering kiss. "I'm sure I'll think of something," he leered as he pulled away.

"Oh, go on with you!" Lelouch laughed, pushing him toward the door. "Don't you have something you're supposed to be doing?"

"That I do," Suzaku agreed, laughing. "I'll see you later, then." Lelouch sighed wistfully as Suzaku disappeared through the door, restraining the desire to watch from the door like some kind of house frau as the sailor went above. Humming to himself, he stirred the pot of beans with absentminded pleasure, fingertips exploring his swollen lips. A muted cough from the door jolted him from his musings. He turned sharply, dropping the spoon with a clatter.

He couldn't read the expression on Gino's face. There was concern, certainly, but confusion and disappointment as well. He searched for disgust, legs shaking as he bent to retrieve the spoon.

"It's a dangerous game you're playing with him, you know," Gino said almost conversationally. Swallowing, Lelouch nodded.

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do," Gino said smoothly, grabbing his wrist in a gloved hand. "Do you know what they do to deviants like you?"

"Deviants like me?" Lelouch demanded, stung.

"Give me your hand," Gino said, shaking the wrist he held, where Lelouch had balled his fist in anger.

"Why?"

"Just do it," Gino commanded. Reluctantly, Lelouch unfurled his fingers, watching as Gino pulled a shell from his pocket. It gleamed in the dull light from the lamp and fire raced up Lelouch's arm as it was drawn against his palm. Blood welled to the surface behind it, dripping between his fingers. He yanked it away from Gino with a startled gasp, clenching it close to his chest and staring in confused horror.

"What--why did you--?" Lelouch demanded, working his fingers to assuage the sting of the cut.

"That's a barnacle shell," Gino stated.

"It's serrated," Lelouch wondered, peeking at the already clotting slash along his palm.

"Yeah," Gino agreed. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before reaching for Lelouch's injured hand. "At least let me wrap that up for you."

Coming back to his senses, Lelouch pulled back, glaring. "Why would you, when you're the one that did it?"

Wincing, Gino looked abashed. "It's an important lesson, and one I've got to make sure you learn. I like you, Lelouch; I think you're a great kid, and you're really good for him. But not here, not now.

"Have you ever heard of keelhauling?" Lelouch blinked at the abrupt change in subject. He nodded, then shook his head slowly.

"Sort of. Like in that whole, 'yargh, keelhaul the landlubber, I'm a pirate' kind of way, but really…no," he admitted. Gino's lips twitched into a smile, but his eyes were sad.

"It's…they don't do it to everyone. If Nu were sporting with a sailor, she'd be court marshaled and he'd be flogged, but if it was…if they caught the two of you, it'd be keelhauling." He took a deep breath before continuing. "You're not supposed to live after," he told him bluntly. "If you do, it's not for long." Lelouch sucked in a breath. Gino held up the shell. "The whole bottom of the ship's covered in these things. They tie a rope to you and drag you the whole length, and if you haven't bled out or been eaten by a shark or drowned by the time they bring you back up, you'd go into shock for sure. A little thing like you? You'd never make it."

Lelouch paused in thought, wrapping an arm around himself. "They'd kill us for it?"

"Probably just you," Gino admitted. Lelouch stared at the shell. "I--Lelouch. I hate telling you this; I hate having to tell you that you can't be together, but clearly the two of you haven't got the sense God gave a fool if you're sporting in the _galley_, for crying out loud!"

Lelouch blushed. "How much did you see?"

"Nothing," Gino said, and Lelouch sighed in relief. "I _heard_ everything, though. You should feel flattered. 'Oh, yes, Lelouch! Oh! Yes!'" Gino imitated, laughing. "Then I come in and you're," he wiped his mouth enthusiastically, snickering, and Lelouch squeaked, shoving at him until he stopped.

"Enough!" Lelouch cried, covering his face in mortification. "Please, mercy!"

"Poor lad never stood a chance," Gino said solemnly, eyes twinkling. Lelouch caught the self-satisfied smile on his own face and scowled, picking at his fingernails.

"Will we never be together if we're both on this ship?" Lelouch asked, voice carefully neutral. Gino shook his head, then paused, considering.

"Trinidad," he said, eyes lighting up. "We're a week out from port. You'll receive your pay and you can stay together on the island, if no one finds out you're together. Lots of the boys find a girl at port and stay ashore the whole visit. No one will think it odd." He turned serious, then. "It'll have to be the last time, though. Tell him it's the last time, and treat him well. He's going to be heartbroken."

Lelouch nodded reluctantly. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say. His mouth was so full that nothing would come out, so he led Gino to the door. Gino looked sympathetic, but Lelouch shrugged out of his attempt to squeeze his shoulder, ducking back into the kitchen and closing the door. As he sank against the wood, eyes stinging, he contemplated what had to be done.


	6. The Love that I Spliced Nearly

_Author's Note: This one was a bit awkward to write. I knew where I was starting and I knew where I wanted to go, but getting there and all the parts between took a bit of finagling. It's a bit longer than most of the other chapters, but not by too much (unfortunately!). I hope the wait has only whetted your appetite! These titles just keep getting longer and longer, don't they? Haha. At the end of it all, I'll include a link to all of the songs used as titles, if anyone wants it.  
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_As always, notes are in my profile, so please check there for any explanations you might need, as well as some really interesting links to informational charts, essays, and even youtube links to songs mentioned in the story! And of course, I adore reading all of your reviews and responses to the story, so drop me a line if you've got the time!_

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**Go No More A-roving: The Love That I Spliced Nearly**

Groaning, Suzaku threw himself down to sit on a crate and stare at Lelouch. "Why not?" he demanded, rubbing the heel of his hand against the obvious bulge in the front of his pants.

"I told you," Lelouch reminded him, awkwardly shifting feet. "I just don't want to. That should be enough for you." Suzaku rose, an incredulous expression on his face.

"Just the other day, you _did_ want to. You wanted to five minutes ago when you had your tongue in my mouth, too." Lelouch flushed, lips tingling with the memory.

"You surprised me," he demurred. "I'm trying to tell you I'm not interested anymore."

"I don't believe you," Suzaku accused. Striding forward, he thrust his hand between Lelouch's thighs to cup his cock, warm and hardening in his grip. Lelouch squeaked in surprise. "This part of you's still interested. It's still _very_ interested, I think." He punctuated his words with a squeeze, drawing a reluctant moan from Lelouch.

"Suzaku--" Lelouch began, breaking off to rock his head back as Suzaku stroked him firmly. Suzaku's lips against his throat left him gasping for air. When he drew back, the sailor's smile was smug.

"I knew you still wanted me," Suzaku murmured with self-satisfaction, fingers working their way inside Lelouch's pants to scratch through the coarse hair he found there. Lelouch sagged bonelessly against him, whimpering as Suzaku pressed the laces of his pants into his swollen flesh. "Let's get these off."

Nodding dumbly, Lelouch yanked at the ties until they fell loose, almost pulling the cord from the fabric entirely. Suzaku chuckled at his haste, and he pulled back, frowning. A hand on his hip stopped him, shoving the tight pants down far enough that a hand could wrap around his cock, tugging carefully.

"Don't you like it when I touch you?" Suzaku whispered harshly. His hand paused and Lelouch whined, hips seeking friction even as his head bobbed absently.

"Yes," Lelouch admitted, part plea and part benediction. "Yes, yes, Suzaku, yes."

"You like it when I put my hands here and make you come?" Suzaku queried mercilessly.

"Please!" Lelouch begged, one hand coming down to wrap around Suzaku's wrist. "Please. I love it when you touch me. I love it when you pu--" he choked, bucking into Suzaku's still hand, "--put your hands on me, and I love it when you make me--" Shaking his head shyly, he pressed his face against Suzaku's shoulder and rocked against his hand.

"Make you what?" Suzaku groaned, lips mouthing the delicate shell of Lelouch's ear. "You love it when I make you what?"

"Come," Lelouch gasped brokenly, and shuddered when Suzaku turned him over the crate roughly, yanking at his pants. With a long, low keening wail, Lelouch braced himself against the crate as Suzaku pushed inside him. He was thankful for the dark of the hold that disguised the brilliant flush on his cheeks. Suzaku grunted behind him, pressing a wet kiss to the back of his neck. Lelouch slumped, head sinking to rest on his hands as he focused on his breathing and the tense burn of penetration.

"I don't want this to end," Suzaku confessed between kisses, breath tickling hotly through the hair at Lelouch's nape. "God, you're so perfect. Please don't let this end." Lelouch's eyes prickled as Suzaku begged, words breaking down into nonsensical pleas as his thrusts sped up. A hand dipped around his hip and his knees buckled when Suzaku stroked him. Another arm caught him around the waist quickly, holding up his weight. Suzaku laughed breathlessly in his ear.

"Good?" Suzaku asked, closing his palm around the head of Lelouch's cock and twisting. Unable to do much more than pant helplessly, Lelouch came, pulsing in Suzaku's fist. In the distance, he heard bells ringing. "Oh, damnation," Suzaku whined, thrusting faster. "I'm supposed to--" He trailed off, dropping his sweaty forehead to rest between Lelouch's shoulder blades as he shuddered, hipbones crushing bruisingly against Lelouch's ass. He groaned heavily, grinding hard into Lelouch's depths, and Lelouch whimpered in protest at the rough treatment, still sensitive.

"Then hurry up and come," Lelouch breathed, arching his back into Suzaku's hands. Suzaku whimpered, hips shuddering out of rhythm as he obliged. His release was warm within him, and Lelouch sighed contentedly. Suzaku's breathing was harsh against his skin where he pressed kisses indeterminately before slowly pulling out. Lelouch pulled a face at the wet feeling between his legs, moaning quietly as Suzaku rubbed his thumb over it, coaxing it into the reddened skin.

"You'd better go," Lelouch warned, still bending into the touch. Suzaku grinned, guiding him into a deep kiss.

"Later, then. I'll see you later," Suzaku promised fervently, fingertips still toying with him absently. Lelouch caught himself nodding in agreement and frowned.

"I need to talk to you later," he said. Suzaku nodded cheerfully, darting in to steal a kiss before he left. Lelouch pulled away, holding him back with a hand. "About where this is going. Why it can't continue."

Blinking, Suzaku froze. "Can't continue?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"It can't continue, Suzaku, you know that!" Lelouch said desperately. His fingers curled around Suzaku's lapel as he turned his head away.

"Lelouch, I don't understand. I thought you liked me," Suzaku said slowly.

"I do! I just…what's more important to you, Suzaku? Me, or your position on this ship?" Lelouch asked. Suzaku paused, biting his lip.

"I can't answer that," he said finally. Lelouch looked down. "I really like you, but I've worked so hard for this. You don't understand; I've been working on this ship almost eight years. I worked my way up from nothing to where I am now." Taking in Lelouch's expression, he sighed. Gently lifting Lelouch's chin, he continued, "But I've never known someone like you. I don't want to give either one up, and I don't see why I have to."

Biting his lip, Lelouch forced a smile. "You'd better get going. Someone's going to wonder where you are; you're already really late."

"Lelouch--" Suzaku lingered. Lelouch shoved him in the direction of the door.

"We'll talk about it later. Go on."

Frowning, Suzaku reluctantly disappeared up the stairs, and Lelouch adjusted his clothing as he thought. There was only one solution to his problem, but it had to be done. He sought out Captain Gottwalt.

"How can I help you?" the captain asked, amused. Bos'n Nu looked on, vaguely irritated as always, and Lelouch wrapped his arms around himself.

"I need to speak with you, sir. Alone." Bos'n Nu made an indignant noise, and Lelouch continued, "In private, if possible, sir." Captain Gottwalt was silent, and then, with a significant look to Nu, nodded briskly and led him to his own quarters.

"What's this about, sailor?" Gottwalt asked, concerned.

Lelouch took a deep breath. "Trinidad. I need you to let me off there."

"I've already told you you're getting shore leave. Surely the boys have explained shore leave to you?" Gottwalt sounded confused.

"No, I need you to put me off ship," Lelouch corrected. "If you don't, I'm telling you now that I intend to desert when we reach harbor."

"Not if I don't let you off this ship, you won't." Gottwalt looked at him seriously, arms folded. "What is this about? Are you unhappy? Ill? Homesick?"

Lelouch thought of home and shook his head. "No, sir. I just…I should go."

"I've no intention of letting you go, Lelouch. You struck a damned pathetic vision when you arrived, and I'll not put you on the streets in some foreign land so far from home," the captain insisted.

"Why won't you just let me go?" Lelouch demanded, exploding. "I don't even need to be paid for my work; you can keep it as fare for my passage! Just put me off and I can fend for myself!"

"You've given me no reason to put you off," Gottwalt said simply, shaking his head. "Why would I put off the reason my sailors actually enjoy their meals? Why would I put off my shanty man? Why would I put off, for that reason, any good sailor who does his work and has never given me a reason to put him off?"

"Because I'm asking you to," Lelouch replied sullenly.

"That's not good enough."

Taking a deep breath, Lelouch braced his hands on his knees. "What if I say I've done something worth worse than being put off?" he asked reluctantly.

"I've seen no sign and heard no complaints," the captain said curiously. "What have you done that's worth worse than termination of your employment?"

"I've…been indiscreet. With another sailor," Lelouch clarified, blushing.

"'Indiscreet'?" Gottwalt raised an eyebrow, gesturing for Lelouch to continue.

"Indiscreet," Lelouch repeated, shifting. "That is, I've been fraternizing with one of your sailors."

"I see."

Lelouch stumbled on, the words pouring out of him in a rush. "He and I have…been intimate several times now, and we don't intend to stop."

"But you want it to stop," Gottwalt said shrewdly. "And you think that if I put you off, it will."

"I--" Lelouch froze, wringing his hands in his lap. "Yes. I tried to break it off, but I don't have the willpower. I need you to put me off, and then he'll go back to normal. You won't have any more of my perversion on your ship."

Captain Gottwalt was silent, pondering. Lelouch bit his lip nervously. "You make a strong case," the captain rumbled eventually. "I need to think about this situation. I'll inform you of my decision later." Nodding gratefully, Lelouch jumped when Gottwalt made a dismissive gesture and left, closing the door on the captain's pensive expression as he went.

As the days passed, the air warmed and the waters cleared, reflecting the brilliant blue of a cloudless sky. The crew was beginning to get restless as they neared the island, distant ships on the horizon traveling near the busy port. Gino had been so full of restless energy that Lelouch had already swatted him twice with his wooden spoon, shooing him away from the boiling pot. "You're going to burn yourself again," he scolded the blond man, who only grinned and danced away to the other side of the room, anxious as a child on Christmas Eve.

Humming to himself as he stirred, Lelouch felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It would be difficult, yes, but Gino had a girl in Trinidad, and they'd said the ship visited often enough that he could wait for Suzaku to come back to him. Perhaps Gino's barmaid could even help him find a job performing, and it wouldn't be long before he could settle into a quiet island life. He was about to propose his idea to the man when the door swung open, revealing Suzaku.

"We've reached the quay," Suzaku informed them, voice strange. Under the sound of Gino's cheers, Lelouch frowned. Something wasn't right. He reached up to touch Suzaku's arm and was knocked away. Gino fell silent.

"What's wrong?" Gino asked, looking between them curiously. Lelouch shrugged, tilting his head in question.

"I've been transferred to the _Adventure_," Suzaku stated. His fists clenched at his sides.

"What?" Lelouch heard the echo of his voice and Gino's blend in the room. "They can't do that, can they?" he asked as Gino murmured, "That's a fifth class, isn't it?"

Suzaku rounded on Gino, lips pinched with fury. "Yes, it's practically a passenger ship."

"Why would they do that?" Lelouch wondered. Gino shook his head reluctantly.

"Captain said it was for 'conduct unbecoming'," Suzaku muttered, and a lump like lead settled in Lelouch's belly.

"What does that mean?" he asked, but he suspected he already knew the answer. Suzaku turned away, and Gino cleared his throat.

"Anything that might compromise the integrity of the crew, really," Gino told him. "It could be anything from being bad at your job or being a drunk to--" Suzaku cut him off.

"--to buggering pretty kitchen boys with big mouths." Lelouch was silent, guilty. Suzaku's lip curled in disgust. "I was told there was a _complaint_ about my behavior, and that it would be best if I were removed from the _temptation_. He was very kind about it."

"I didn't ask that you be put off the ship!" Lelouch blurted.

"But you complained that I couldn't keep my hands off you," Suzaku snarled, storming to the door. "And that's what you've got." Lelouch stared at the door, willing him to come back as heavy footprints stomped down the hall. Glancing at Gino, he was taken aback by the contempt he found on the other man's face and drew back as the sailor rushed by to comfort his friend.

So much for simple island life.


	7. Leave Her, Johnny

_Author's Note: Another quick chapter, and longer, too! I debated whether or not to post this one today, but decided I'd go ahead and give it to you guys a bit early for being such loyal readers. A warning: there's high drama this update, friends!_

_As always, my innumerable thanks to those of you that take the time to read and review. I love knowing that you guys like what you read!_

_**Edit (1/20/10): **So, my math was off with Suzaku's insult here; I said that Lelouch had earned almost a shilling (about $60 USD), but in fact, he's earned almost a pound (more than $1100 USD)! Oops! Fixed now.  
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**Go No More A-roving: Leave Her, Johnny**

Hot tropical sun beat down on his shoulders, making him sweat. All around him the world gleamed white, from the sand glittering on the shore to the glass windows shining in white painted buildings. Running through the streets, dozens of children were baked nut-brown by the sun, chattering and screaming in a mangled mix of French and English. Glimmering dark in the distance like a mirage was a lush forest. A pang hit him when he considered how truly happy he might have been here.

Instead, he looked dourly at his chaperone. Gino looked just as irritated to be with him as he was to be tailed to prevent desertion. They hadn't said two civil words to each other since the revelation of Lelouch's betrayal. It hadn't been so painfully lonely when they'd been wrapped up in the myriad of preparations to go ashore, but wandering around these clean, bright streets with Gino, he felt more alone than he knew how to stand.

He followed obediently when the blond sailor grabbed his shoulder and ducked into a narrow alleyway. There was coin in his purse, but he had nothing he needed and nowhere to go, really. He'd have stayed on the ship if he hadn't been lured out by the chance of running into Suzaku while the _Adventure_ was loading her stores. Gino took another left and they were standing in front of a pub.

"We're going inside, and you're going to sit where I tell you to and you're not going to move," Gino informed him brusquely, all but dragging him in to a seat at a small table in the corner. "I'll bring you a small beer."

Lelouch made a mocking face at the thought of the child's drink the man was planning on bringing him and sighed, picking at the old wooden table's surface. There were almost a half dozen ships in tonight, and all around him sailors were drinking and carousing. Whores with painted lips and rouged cheeks flitted like bulls through the room, often eyeing him before dismissing him. He watched one blatantly pick a sailor's pocket under the guise of fondling him and grinned, looking away when she stared at him. A heavy mug slammed into the table in front of him and he looked up at Gino's irritated expression.

"I'm off to find Celestine. If you're not here when I get back, I'm telling the captain you've deserted." Turning on his heel, Gino disappeared into the crowd. Lelouch frowned, wiping the beer from his face and contemplated its murky depths. The musicians on the stage were something terrible to hear, and he fingered the whistle in his pocket thoughtfully. A crowd like this had to have some money in it, and supplies from the ship's store had taken a considerable chunk of his pay. Before he had a chance to convince himself it was a bad idea, he was bounding up on stage. He slugged back half his beer and dumped the rest into the soused fiddler's cup, setting the empty mug to dry sticky on the edge of the stage before him. Whipping out his whistle, he launched into "South Australia."

And sailors did love their music, didn't they? Before he'd even finished the song, he could hear the telltale clink of coin against metal. It was one of the lessons he'd learned back home: a drunken sailor is freer with his money than the richest nob, and if he'd judged this crowd right, by the evening's end he'd have both the coin and reputation to stick around if he wanted to--after he'd split his earnings with the band behind him, of course. Dropping his pipe in favor of singing, he reached down to pluck a handful of coins from the mug, scattering them among the other musicians. Mollified, they joined in.

Apparently, drinks were on the house for musicians, because another mug had appeared next to his collections, brimming to the top with ale. He took a swig and froze. Over the rim, on the other side of the room, he spied Suzaku. The other boy was laughing, face flushed and curls askew, and he didn't look half as lonely as Lelouch felt. His heart clenched. Smiling, he forced himself into "Cape Cod Girls."

On the other side of the room, it looked like Suzaku was making good friends with his new crewmates. Surrounded by men Lelouch didn't recognize, he watched Suzaku converse enthusiastically, waving his hand in emphasis. One of the men disappeared, coming back with a round of drinks. Even from the stage, he could see the gleam of shiny teeth in Suzaku's cheerful smile, the glitter of his bright eyes as he laughed, the tipsy way he held himself as he drank. One of the other sailors tipped the end of his mug, and Lelouch's mouth curled to see Suzaku shaking the booze from his hair in good humor.

They stayed that way for an hour, Suzaku pretending he didn't hear Lelouch singing and Lelouch pretending he could see something other than Suzaku in the dark pub. When the other sailors gave Suzaku a cheerful wave and staggered off to another table, Lelouch saw his chance, abandoning his cup of coins to duck from the stage, following him. Suzaku wobbled unsteadily into the street, and Lelouch cast a wary eye over his shoulder for Gino. Spying him wrapped around a lusty barmaid, Lelouch darted out the door in pursuit.

At first, it looked like Suzaku was looking for a place to piss, staggering down crooked, narrow alleys, but eventually Lelouch realized that while _he_ may not have had the first clue how to get back to the ship from here, Suzaku'd clearly been this way before. He had to crouch behind a barrel to hide when the sailor doubled back to an alley he'd passed. Lelouch followed him to the end of the alley and a large white house. As Suzaku slipped inside, Lelouch stepped mechanically into the plaza. There was no denying what kind of place this was. His stomach turned and he wanted to flee, but he knew he was well and truly lost. He wished he'd followed Gino's instructions.

His knees went weak and he sat down, staring up at the building. It would have looked like a villa, or maybe even a hotel, if it weren't for the steady, discrete flow of sailors coming and going from the place. No one he recognized, thank God--no one but Suzaku. A pretty young girl saw a potential customer and came over to him.

"You okay, hon?" she asked and he frowned, looking up into her face. "You look like you could use a little company, mister." She was brazen, and he wanted desperately to slap her for it.

"Just waiting for a friend to finish up," he replied weakly. "We've been in port long enough that my money's all gone, but he's been saving up for this. Says your girls are worth saving for."

She gave him a saucy wink. "Put your own coin aside and next time you come to Trinidad, you can find out for yourself." He watched her hips swing as she approached another sailor standing nearby, and this time he almost retched with misery.

Even though the day had been filled with lush, tropical humidity, as night stole over the island it left behind a cold wind. Lelouch shivered, still waiting as the sun crept below the horizon. It must have been two hours, but it felt like two days before Suzaku finally stumbled from the front steps, his skin flushed and curls tousled in a way that Lelouch had always vainly assumed only he'd seen before. A pretty girl followed him, covering his mouth with a lingering kiss and Suzaku responded languidly, a hand coming up to stroke over her waist with more familiarity than Lelouch could tolerate. Sick to his stomach from drink and heartache, he clambered to his feet and turned tail, suddenly unable to face the confrontation he'd been angrily planning.

"--Lelouch?"

He turned to Suzaku's wide eyes and sneered, picking an alley at random and stalking off. He barely made it around the corner before he was slammed against a white plastered building, Suzaku's furious face above his own.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Suzaku growled, shaking him by his grip on his shoulders. Lelouch winced, then rounded on him.

"Me? I'm sorry, I followed you so I could talk to you, and you took a detour through the _whorehouse_," he hissed.

"You _followed_ me?" Suzaku stared at him incredulously. "And why is it any of your business where I spend my time before I'm shipped off with an entirely new crew on the _Adventure_?"

"You're right. It's not my business," Lelouch said, trying to push by. Suzaku pushed him back against the wall. "Excuse me, I've got to go now."

"Why do you even care about talking to me? I thought you wanted me to leave you alone!" Suzaku insisted.

"Well, I figured if you'd spend your time _talking_--" Lelouch filled the word with as much innuendo and contempt as he could manage, "--with anyone and everyone, I warranted at least five minutes of your time!"

"Oh, five minutes, is it?" Suzaku said slyly. "You always were a fast fuck, but did you miss me that badly?" Lelouch swore and swung his fist. Suzaku dodged it easily, capturing his wrist above his head. "You did say you loved it when I made you come," Suzaku purred, and Lelouch stilled, stung.

"Well, apparently any hole will do, for you," he bit out, teeth clenched. "Even one you have to pay for."

Suzaku frowned deeply, his grip on Lelouch's wrist tightening until he felt the delicate bones grinding together. Then a dark, slow smile spread across his face. "I never did pay you, did I?" he asked. Lelouch's breath caught in his throat as he fished through his pocket. "Thruppence, right? For dinner. And what, sixpence for each time I fucked you? I'll even be generous and give you ten--no, twenty. Ten for each time you put it in your mouth, and five for every time I did the same for you." He held up a dull silver coin. "Why, look. You've almost earned a whole pound. Not bad for lying on your back, huh? I'll even let you keep the change."

With a sob, Lelouch shoved as hard as he could against him, staggering on weak knees as Suzaku fell with a cry on his elbows. He stood trembling, face turned away as he tried to make the words he wanted to say come out of his mouth. "I don't--" he started, voice tinny and distant in his own ears. "If ever we're both in port at the same time, I don't want to see you again."

"Lelouch…" Suzaku sounded miserable, but Lelouch didn't dare look back as he dove into the streets, begging directions to the harbor in whatever smatterings of French he could remember at the moment. No footsteps followed him as he finally tripped into the bustling port. The ship--_home_, he thought desperately--was running on a ghost crew, barely lit for the few men left behind to stand watch. Mumbling a few half-hearted words to them, he hurried below deck to hide in his bunk, eyes burning.

The worst part was the way his skin still tingled from the contact, the way his heart still beat faster from the air of his breath against his skin. He was angry that it was still beating at all--weren't broken things supposed to not work anymore? He curled on his side in a miserable lump and didn't budge, even the next day when the men came back with aching heads and filled the berth with the sound of drunken sickness. The next day the surgeon came to see him, and, satisfied that he wasn't ailing--at least physically--prescribed a healthy dose of getting back in the kitchen before Cookie served them another pot of gruel and glue. He stayed in bed until the captain came to see him about leading the men while they hauled anchor.

"What, are you unhappy now? Your problems are taken care of," Captain Gottwalt said without preamble from his position beside Lelouch's bunk.

"My problems are shit now. Sir," Lelouch added insolently.

"You think I made a mistake." The captain's tone sounded doubtful.

"I think you made a huge fucking mistake, trading a fully-trained and skilled lieutenant for a half-assed ship's boy who doesn't even want to work for you anymore," Lelouch replied, burying his face in his arms.

"You may not be happy with me, but you've no right to disrespect me, Lelouch. I did what was best to take care of my crew. Reassigning his commission was what was best for my crew." Lelouch could hear the warning in Gottwalt's voice and turned bleary eyes to face the man.

"What was best for your crew was to put me off back there and go on as if I'd never been here. I'm not worth half of what he is, so why would you keep me? It seems like a monumentally stupid idea," Lelouch complained, pressing his palms into his sore and tired eyes. "Sir," he added meekly.

"Your father wouldn't agree with that."

Lelouch went very still. Gottwalt was silent. Lifting one hand to peek at the captain, Lelouch took in his serious expression and swore.

"Did you think I wouldn't recognize you, Lelouch?" Gottwalt asked. "When I heard you sing for the first time for your sister's birthday, at your mother's house, with your father standing over you as if you were the most precious treasure in the world and only he could be trusted to guard it?"

"You've known that long? Who else knows? Nu?" Lelouch asked, pulling himself up to sit. Gottwalt shook his head.

"I knew you at first sight, standing there half-starved and frozen in that flimsy scrap of fabric you had on. Nu wanted to send you back right then, but I couldn't delay the voyage with a trip to Pendragon, and I couldn't trust you'd get there alone."

"Is that why she hates me?" Lelouch pondered and the captain's lips twitched into a smile.

"She doesn't hate you. She might even like you more than she's willing to admit, when you didn't turn out to be half as spoiled as she'd expected." Gottwalt smiled fully this time, and Lelouch laughed quietly, the breath aching in his chest. He curled his fingers into fists in his lap, a morose expression falling over him as he remembered Suzaku's laughter that night. A tentative hand on his own made him look up at Gottwalt's uncomfortable face, surprised. "Did he…hurt you?" the captain asked discreetly.

Lelouch coughed, choking. "No! No. Well, nothing more than my pride." He stared at the gold trim on the captain's gloves. "Bruised my heart a little," he admitted, biting his lip. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and turned to Gottwalt, smile strained. "You're not going to treat me differently, now that I know that you know?"

Captain Gottwalt patted his hand comfortingly. "Not a chance. Now get your lazy ass up and cook my crew some food, lad. They're near mutiny for some real food."

Chuckling, Lelouch was tugging on his boots when the door banged open, the loblolly boy flushed and wide-eyed as he burst into the room. "Captain Gottwalt, sir! Captain Gottwalt! We've been boarded! It's _pirates_!"


	8. A Salt Sea Pirate

_Author's Note: Pirates! We're finally seeing some familiar faces, if you've been wondering where certain people have been hiding. _

_As always, thanks to everyone for taking the time to read and review, but mostly just for reading. And I have a question about the chapter notes: would you guys prefer them being here, or is it okay to leave them on my profile? They're not usually the most important thing in the world--just random bits of information about parts of the story that may offer a bit more depth to certain aspects. This time they're in my profile, but I'd be willing to copy them here if you like!_

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**Go No More A-roving: A Salt Sea Pirate **

He didn't know what to make of her; she was beautiful, yes, but deadly. The guns lined on belts across her truly impressive décolletage and the way her men stood behind her with obvious respect told that tale well enough, but what impressed Lelouch most was her shrewd look. Sharp blue eyes washed over the crowd like a prospective buyer thoroughly examining her wares. When they landed on the captain, she smiled.

"Jeremiah Gottwalt." Her voice was rich and delicately accented. "I must thank you for your hospitality. This is a fine ship, and you keep her very well maintained."

Captain Gottwalt bowed stiffly. "I thank you, madam. Would you be so kind as to tell me what your purpose is on board my ship?"

"I'd have thought your men would have fought harder--at all, really--this being a highly-rated ship in His Majesty's navy," she continued blithely. The captain's jaw flexed.

"You'll forgive my men their lapses, I hope. We are recent enough ashore that we are all still suffering the effects of Trinidad's tender mercies, and near enough we expected no visitors." Still, at Gottwalt's glare, the men of the watch cringed, cowed.

"And I'm certain that is an assumption you'll never make again," she said cheekily, tossing her bright curls playfully. Extending her hand--thumb up, for shaking, Lelouch noted--she smiled smoothly. "I am Captain Kouzuki of the _Egalité_. You may call me Kallen."

"Miss Kallen," Gottwalt greeted smoothly, tilting her hand to kiss her knuckles. Her face flashed with irritation before the expression disappeared between bland civility. "Your reputation precedes you, as I'm sure you know. I'm afraid I haven't anything worthy of…paying tribute to your loveliness."

Kallen grinned ferally, brandishing a folded letter with a flourish. "Aha! It's unkind of you to tell mistruths, Captain Gottwalt. I have here a fascinating piece of correspondence that tells me different."

The captain didn't respond, but Lelouch imagined he'd gone a bit paler. From her position on the other side of the deck, Nu swore softly. Kallen strode over to her, tilting her chin with a finger. "Did you know your precious cargo's worth? Did he tell you exactly how much trouble he was in for not returning it promptly?"

Lelouch hissed beneath his breath. In front of him, Captain Gottwalt went rigid, a warning hand stretching to restrain him. "Don't do anything stupid," Gottwalt said aloud, face turned to Kallen but eyes on Lelouch. "If you think I'd let you do that sort of thing--"

Kallen struck him across the face, lips curled in triumph. Gasps of outrage rose from the crew. "You don't have a choice. You'll hand him over or you'll _die_." She paced the deck, peering into the faces of the sailors. "And they'll die."

The crowd surged, angry yells coming from the sailors as they fought against the pirates. A fight broke out, silenced quickly with fists and the butt of a pistol. A burly pirate with curly hair dragged out a struggling, bruised Luciano. "What the hell?" Luciano burst out, tugging against the man's grip. "What have you got," he demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Captain Gottwalt, "that's worth us dying for?"

Kallen laughed, surprised and delighted. "They don't even know!"

"Don't--" Gottwalt started, but she cut him off with a flippant wave.

"Well, sailor, my men and I are, as I'm sure you're aware by now, a group of enterprising business people with a wide array of interests. We were paying a visit to a mail packet yesterday morning, you know, checking our post and shaking parcels and the like--" she grinned roguishly, "--when we came across the most amazing letter. Why, this one here, in fact!" Holding the letter up, she pointed to the wax seal that had been carefully lifted from the paper.

"This letter, marked with the noted seal of the esteemed Captain Gottwalt, was in a vault beneath the postmaster's bed. Now I thought to myself, 'Self, why would a letter from our illustrious Captain Gottwalt require such discrete protection?' And then I realized that it wasn't the sender that necessitated such precautions, it was the _recipient_. You see, piled beneath this letter were three more, each penned for the eyes of his holy Majesty, our beloved Emperor Charles." She let that sink in before continuing.

"I'm sure it's no secret that the good Captain was a close friend of the Lady Marianne, but I must admit my curiosity was piqued; you see, with that dear lady dead these near ten years, what could possibly be Captain Gottwalt's reason for writing? It necessitated I should lift the seal and find out.

"You must imagine my pleased surprise, then," she added to Gottwalt, who was nearly shaking with rage. "It would seem our Captain has won the love of Lady Luck, for in this letter, he claims to have found the Holy Grail of Pendragon Castle--a lost lamb, of sorts." Confusion dawned into excited buzzing as one by one, the sailors began to realize what she meant. Lelouch panted for breath, panic setting in. He looked around desperately, eyes falling on Gino's thoughtful look. When Gottwalt shifted subtly, blocking Lelouch from Kallen's sight, a light dawned across the blond's face in stunned incredulity.

"So if you're in the crowd here, my dear young lord, please do step forward," she ordered finally, whipping out a blade to clean her nails. "Things will go very poorly for your crewmates if you don't. Besides, don't you miss your home? Don't you miss your family?"

Lelouch's breath escaped in a rush as he considered his options: give himself up to be ransomed, or watch as the pirates destroyed the crew as Captain Gottwalt's payment for his kindness. Biting his lip, he pushed against Gottwalt's back to step forward when the crowd murmured. Looking up, he saw Gino smoothing his hair nonchalantly back into place.

"Well? Are you satisfied?" Gino asked, smiling winningly. Lelouch gaped at him.

"I knew you would be a reasonable sort, my lord," Kallen hummed, motioning for a man to tie Gino's hands. He lifted his bound wrists and inspected the work, smiling.

"Of course, miss," he said smoothly. "If we're through here--?" He tilted his head toward the other ship. She shook her head, eyes scanning the crowd.

"Of course we're not through here," she replied, staring hard at Gottwalt. "I want every new sailor from the last six months in front of me. Now."

Lelouch's heart clenched as Gottwalt stepped to block him further. Placing a hand on his arm, he gave the captain a grateful look and stepped forward. Around the deck, two more sailors reluctantly did the same. Before he quite knew what was happening, he was looking back on the ship he'd called home for the past three months from the rail of another ship, hands bound in the small of his back and a sick feeling clawing at his stomach. Gottwalt looked furiously miserable as the pirates pulled back, guns trained on his crew.

"You know I'll get them back!" he called across the water as a gulf opened between the ships. "You can't believe you'll get away with this!"

"My dear Captain, I expect you to try!" Kallen called back, blowing him a kiss. Lelouch saw no more of their interaction as he was shoved below decks and crammed into a holding cell with the other sailors. Gino's cell was separate, though the ankle-deep water was shared by both.

The loblolly boy was crying quietly in the corner. The other sailor was sitting on the narrow bench, teeth gritting together in fury. Gino looked contemplative in his cell, and Lelouch avoided his eyes. "Cheer up, then, eh?" the sailor murmured, patting the boy's shoulder awkwardly. "At least we're alive, and we're headed back to Pendragon at that."

The boy stared at him as if he'd grown another head. "Are you an idiot?" he demanded. Lelouch flushed. "What do you think they'll do to us when none of us turns out to be that missing prince? You think they'll just pat us on the head and say, 'Oh, so sorry, my mistake. You're free to go,'?"

Lelouch winced as the sailor continued, "Why would they hurt us?"

"Why wouldn't they?" the boy retorted, crossing his arms. "And why would they let witnesses go wandering through the streets? Because I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I'm not some nob that got lost on his way between palaces!"

"Rolo!" Gino's voice was sharp. "Stand down. You know he's right--they could have killed us all, but they think there's a chance that one of us is the missing prince, and as long as they think that, we've all got a chance to make it through this. You think Gottwalt's done anything but turn right back around toward Pendragon? He'll beat us there, and there'll be an armored guard waiting when we get there."

"Why did you step forward, Gino?" Lelouch cut in, staring hard at the disgusting swirls of water around his feet. "When they asked for the prince, I mean. You're not actually him, are you?" Gino's gaze was penetrating.

"It was the right thing to do," he said simply. "If the prince really was on board--and the captain seemed to think he was--then it was my duty to protect him by keeping his secret. That's what Gottwalt had done so far. We've all got to make a few sacrifices to protect the sacrifices that have already been made for that secret." Wincing, Lelouch glanced sidelong at him, surprised to find the hostility he'd expected missing.

"You're not the prince," Lelouch said bluntly. "I remember now: you're Duke Weinberg's son." Rolo and the other sailor sucked in air sharply. Gino laughed.

"Are we telling each other's secrets now?" At Lelouch's confused look, he smiled wryly. "I didn't tell anyone that, you know. I only told them that my parents were wealthy enough to pay my commission as midshipman. Most of the people I worked with under Gottwalt's command had no idea exactly who I was. As far as they knew, I was a wealthy merchant's son."

"Sorry," Lelouch murmured, curling his feet onto the bench and wrapping his arms around his knees.

"So Gino's not the prince," Rolo said, ticking off on his fingers. "And I know it's not me, and it couldn't be Lelouch, saved from a life of whoring by the lieutenant he ratted out for it--" at Lelouch's mortified groan, he shrugged. "It's shipboard gossip. Everyone knew what was happening; lord knows that boy's incapable of coming quietly. Anyway, that leaves Rivalz," he pointed. The other sailor threw his hands up, shaking his head in denial.

"Not me. I'm no more royal than my father's tobacconist, which is, incidentally, The Royal. It's not even particularly high quality tobacco, you know," Rivalz denied. Gino laughed, and Rolo sank down in his seat.

"So none of us is the prince. That's great--it means they'll kill us all," Rolo mused morosely.

"No," Lelouch disagreed. "It means they'll ransom those two," he pointed to Gino and Rivalz, "and kill us." Rolo gave him an exasperated sigh and Gino stared. "What?" Lelouch huffed, and Gino burst into surprised laughter. Before long, the other three joined in, and if there was a desperate tinge to their mirth, no one acknowledged it.


	9. A Jolly Roving Tar

_Author's Notes: A bit shorter this time, but important nonetheless! This time, chapter notes are at the end of the chapter as well as in my profile. Let me know if this works better for you guys! _

_And as always (as always!), many many thanks for taking the time to read!_

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**Go No More A-roving: The Jolly Roving Tar **

"What did you say?" Kallen asked, torn between disbelief and mocking.

"I want to join your crew," Lelouch repeated. "I've had enough of being the bottom rung on a naval ship; I've seen how your ship is run, and I want to join up." Gino hissed and Rivalz was staring at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"You want to join up," Kallen repeated slowly, rolling the words around her mouth as she said them. "What do you have to offer my crew?"

"I'm a passable shanty man," Lelouch offered.

"You think we sing on this ship?" Kallen asked, and Lelouch flushed.

"Every sailor I've ever known sings," he said ruefully. She grinned, and he continued. "And I've been told I'm a good enough cook."

"We've already got a cook," she said, shaking her head. "Can you splice a line?"

Gino choked, laughing under his breath. Lelouch glared at him. "I'm…not the best at it," he admitted. "But I can do a lot of other things. Give me a chance."

"Fine," she relented, stepping back from the cell to reach for the keys at her waist. Opening the door just wide enough for him to slip through, she closed it behind him and locked it securely. "I'd better not regret this."

Lelouch took a long look at the sailors in the cells and frowned. "May I stay and talk to them a minute?" he asked.

"You can kiss 'em through the bars for all I care. Be on deck at three bells or I'm putting you back in there," she warned. Wiggling her fingers at Gino, she added, "Until next time, my lord."

Gino's answering grin fell from his face as the door closed behind her. "What the hell is your game, Lelouch?!" he demanded, reaching through the bars to grab at Lelouch's sleeve.

"It's very simple, Lord Weinberg," Lelouch answered, working Gino's fingers free from his shirt and taking a step back. "I'm not going back to Pendragon, and no one's taking me there."

"Don't you miss your family?" Rivalz asked.

Lelouch rolled his eyes. "If there was anything worth missing in that godforsaken city, in that whole _country_, I wouldn't have followed Suzaku."

"So you _were_ using him," Gino accused. Lelouch shook his head in denial.

"He was very kind to me," he admitted, biting his lip. "I repaid him poorly, and he returned the sentiment. That doesn't change the fact that he probably saved my life that night." Gino was silent, frowning. Lelouch took a deep breath. "I wanted out of that city, though. I'm not going back."

"But surely your family--" Gino was cut off by a warning glare. He swallowed. "You know you'll have to go back some day, don't you? You can't stay away forever."

"Maybe once everyone's dead or forgotten about me," Lelouch suggested, crossing his arms.

Gino shook his head. "It's not going to happen. You're never going to be forgotten entirely."

The whole time, Rolo had been watching them talk, and now comprehension washed over his face. "Call the captain back, Lelouch," he said.

"Why?" Lelouch asked.

"Just do it. Please," Rolo requested. As Lelouch nodded, he turned to Gino, eyes full of questions. Gino shrugged helplessly and Rolo looked incredulous. "Really?" he asked, turning back to Lelouch.

Lelouch sighed. "We're telling each other's secrets now, Gino?" he asked wearily. "Really," he told Rolo. "But I'm not going back. I have my own reasons."

"What're you guys talking about?" Rivalz asked.

"Don't worry about it," Gino replied, patting his hair through the bars.

"I'm joining the crew, too," Rolo announced. "I'll keep him safe," he added to Gino, who smiled. Lelouch made an indignant sound. "Please, just go get the captain, okay?" Frowning, Lelouch left, returning with Kallen.

"I've heard you've had a change of heart, sailor," she said, jangling her keys idly. "You'd be another mouth to feed; what would you do for my ship?"

"I've served as ship's apothecary on four vessels. My commission was purchased by Gottwalt for the current mission, but it wasn't my first time asea. I can sew a cut so neat it won't scar and remove a limb in thirty seconds," Rolo said. "Even if you've already got a surgeon, it would be a waste to pass on me; I'm not worth ransoming. No one would pay the fees."

"A good surgeon is always needed," Kallen agreed. "Thirty seconds to saw, then break, or thirty to saw through?"

"Saw through."

Kallen looked impressed. "Alright, you're in, too. Follow me and I'll get you both onto the watch."

Sparing one last look at Gino and Rivalz, Lelouch followed her up into the sunlight. Salt spray whipped his hair to the side as he faced the breeze. Kallen's ship was a small ship, perhaps half the size Gottwalt's had been.

"It's called the _Egalité_," he mused aloud, running his fingertips across the blonde wood of the rail. "You believe in that?"

Kallen looked taken aback. "Believe in it? In what, that all men--and women--are equal, no matter where they're born or what their station? Of course. You'll find we're a different sort from you Brittanian 'right of might'ers. It's one of the reasons I became who I am: aboard this ship, and every ship like it, we are a true democracy. Each man's vote is worth the same as any other's, and each man has one, no matter who he is."

Lelouch blinked at her, unexpectedly thrilled by her statement. "That's wonderful," he murmured, fingers curling around the rail impulsively. "A prince is worth no more than a poor musician, and a poor musician is worth no more than a prince."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Kallen smiled sardonically. "At least the musician can contribute something to the ship. Better than a lazy, spoiled, good-for-nothing prince whose only worth is the gold we'll get when we ransom him in Pendragon."

Lelouch swallowed, smiling weakly. He thought he heard Rolo growl. "About that: we aren't going straight back to Pendragon, are we? That's what they'll expect. They'll be waiting for you. Us," Lelouch corrected.

Kallen smiled widely at him. "You're right, of course: that's exactly what they would expect. That's why we're doing it; they'll never expect the perfectly expectable."

Lelouch paused, searching for the delicate words he needed. "That's stupid," he said finally. Kallen's smile dropped. "That is, it'll never work. What you need to do is draw them out into the ocean to look for you and then slip back into harbor under the confusion. Trick them into thinking you're sojourning in the Caribbean for a while, and when the ships begin to trickle back into Pendragon, blend in with the crowd. If you try to come barreling into the city when they know you're going to, they'll catch you, and then where would we be--" he pointed to Rolo, "doing the surgeon's dirty work and," he pointed to himself, "letting someone else take the credit for our hard work. Trust me, this will take some subtle subterfuge."

Kallen paused thoughtfully, considering his suggestions. "You do have a point," she agreed. "How would you suggest distracting them?"

"If there's anything a sailor loves more than music," he observed wryly, "it's gossip. Let it be known in several ports that you've got a precious bounty in your stores, and that you're waiting to see if Pendragon is interested in reclaiming its prize. Say that you're waiting in Hispaniola for word from your contacts that the plum is ripe for the picking, as they say."

"It would work," Kallen said, smiling slowly. "While the Emperor's men are looking for us in Hispaniola, we can be in Trinidad, riding out the storm. I know of a quay there where we could pass undetected for weeks."

Lelouch flushed at the mention of the island. "Not Trinidad," he told her. "That would be the place they'd look if we weren't in Hispaniola; that's where you took us, after all. I'm sure many people know you have a port there."

"Cuba, then," she said flippantly, eyes already glittering as she worked out the plan. "We'll make port in Havana; I can send some of the men to Port-au-Prince to complete the ruse."

Nodding, Lelouch hummed in agreement. "That would be a good idea. I presume your men are identifiable as such?"

"Oh, yes. Everyone knows who _my_ men are," Kallen said raffishly.

Lelouch grinned back. "Excellent."

Clapping her hands, Kallen called out, "Gentlemen! There's been a change in the wind; I feel it blowing us south again--I daresay it may take us as far as Cuba!" The men cheered. She held up a hand. "And," she said, pausing for effect, "It seems we may need to take a ship to fund our journeys!" The men cheered again, louder. When they had died down, she reached over, dragging Lelouch closer. "--and this man will be taking the position of Quartermaster for that endeavor."

Blinking, Lelouch looked from perplexed face to perplexed face. "I don't even know what that means," he hissed at her, just as confused as the sailors looked.

"He's a hostage," one of the sailors managed, and the wall of silence around them shattered, sailors rushing to decry the decision.

"Do you doubt my judgment?" Kallen demanded, hands on her hips. One by one, the men fell back, unhappy. "It's not permanent; I want to see how he does, but I want to _see_ it.

"You're a tricksy bastard," she told Lelouch, and he bowed his head. She smiled, continuing to the crew, "I think he's capable."

The burly sailor with curly hair stepped up, holding his hand up to the crowd for silence. "We may not know anything about this boy, but I, for one, trust Kallen's judgment. If she thinks it's worth trying, it's worth trying." He turned to Lelouch, finger stretched toward him in warning. "But if you get these men killed, don't expect to last much longer than the first one to die."

Gulping, Lelouch nodded. Satisfied, Kallen beamed at the sailor. "Thanks, Ougi." The sailor nodded solemnly and Kallen turned back to Lelouch. "You'd better get planning, then. I expect things to go smoothly when the time comes." She disappeared onto the navigation deck as the crowd dispersed.

Biting his lip, Lelouch turned to take in Rolo's disbelieving stare. "You've got no idea what you've agreed to do, have you?" Rolo finally asked, sighing. "Come on. You've got to talk to Gino; you've got a naval battle to plan."

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_Chapter Notes: Quartermaster on a normal Naval ship is already quite a high position: in charge of the deck crew, the quartermaster was responsible for meting out all punishment on ship. But on a pirate ship, the quartermaster held another, even more important duty: leading the boarding crew in the hostile takeover of another ship. A raid's success or failure rested heavily on the quartermaster's shoulders; if planned or led poorly, the quartermaster could be leading his own crew to their death--with himself at the front lines. Such an important role was usually voted upon--pirate ships were an excellent example of true democracy, with elections and votes, though impeachment from a position usually meant marooning or death--but could be assigned in dire cases, such as when the prior quartermaster is killed or indisposed._


	10. Stormy Winds do Blow

_Author's Notes: A busy chapter, and another familiar face!_

_I was reading the reviews, and it seems that there are a lot of terms/situations that are going unexplained or are difficult to understand. I've explained the ones I thought might be the most troublesome, but if there are any that you'd like explained, please let me know! I'd hate to think that anyone's having trouble because I'm not being as clear as I could be._

_Speaking of notes: I think it worked really well to add them to the bottom of the chapter, so that's where they are this time (and in my profile, as well). Many thanks to all of my readers, and especially those of you who've taken the time to drop me a line and let me know you're enjoying the story!_

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**Go No More A-roving: Stormy Winds do Blow**

It wasn't that he didn't know how to fight. That wasn't the problem at all. No, the problem was that the way he'd been taught to fight had a one hundred percent chance of getting him killed in a sea battle. Rolo knocked the tip of his sword hard with the tang of his own, knocking it out of his hand. Lelouch swore.

"Again," Rolo commanded, rocking back into a ready stance. Lelouch retrieved his sword from the ground and balanced the tip between Rolo's eyes. Rolo's sword flashed like lightning, leaving Lelouch clutching his wrist, sword between their feet again. "_Again_," Rolo repeated, irritation creeping into his voice.

"You're not giving me time to get ready!" Lelouch complained, rolling his wrist against the pain.

Rolo scoffed. "You think they're going to give you time to get ready? You've got to be faster than that. Again."

Huffing, Lelouch squared his shoulders. Holding his sword extended, he lowered the tip from its tourney position, satisfied when Rolo didn't knock it from his hand again. He brought his nonfighting hand up to curl behind him in balance, and Rolo sputtered, giggling.

"What the hell is that, Lelouch?" Rolo asked between laughter. He struck a fancy pose, mocking Lelouch's stance.

"It's the correct stance," Lelouch protested stiffly.

Rolo shook his head. "It's silly, and it's likely to get that hand chopped off, if you're waving it in the air. Try it again; less posing this time and more sword fighting."

Growling, Lelouch shifted, dropping his arm to fold it behind his back neatly. Rolo rolled his eyes. This time, when Lelouch balanced the tip of his sword at eye level, Rolo reached beneath it with his own, smacking the flat of the blade hard against Lelouch's ribs.

"Ouch!" Lelouch yelped. "_Whoreson_!" Rolo smacked him again in the thigh.

"You're dead now, I hope you know. While you're busy making sure you do everything by the book, I've cut you to the quick once, and let you bleed out on the deck the other," Rolo informed him.

"I can't help it!" Lelouch complained, rubbing at the bruises that were already forming on his leg. "You've no sense of decorum."

"Not when it comes to living and dying, no," Rolo agreed. "Again."

"Again?!" Lelouch cried, dismayed. "You unholy taskmaster!"

"Oh, come on. It's not so bad," Kallen said from her position watching the duel. "You should be able to take more of a beating than that. I doubt it even hurt you!"

Wincing, Lelouch pulled up the edge of his shirt to look at the already purpling mark stretched across his skin. "Mercy, Rolo. I think I've had enough for today."

"One more time," Rolo insisted. Lelouch groaned piteously, and Rolo relented. "I'll make a bruise cream for you if you do it one more time."

Peering over at Rolo sideways, Lelouch made a show of considering it. "I'll practice again--if you can find someone capable of fighting by the book. I'm not as bad at this as you people think I am," he insisted, pouting. "You just don't follow the rules."

"There aren't any rules to fighting for your life," Rolo scolded.

"Hm," Kallen considered. "The prince would probably know how to do this stuff, wouldn't he? I'll bring him up for an exhibition." Snapping her fingers, she motioned for a sailor to bring Gino up. The familiar tousled blond head popped up, and Lelouch sighed, compressing his slightly swollen wrist with his other hand.

"We're to duel," Lelouch informed him. "Fencing, actually. To points, not kills." He cast a glance at Kallen, who looked gleefully disappointed at the lack of blood.

"Epees or foils?" Gino asked.

Cocking an eyebrow at the sword he held in his hand, Lelouch saluted him. "Sabers."

"Brilliant," Gino cheered. "Haven't done that one since school. Don't mangle me too badly flailing around there, Lelouch. Whatever you do, don't hit the face."

"I'll try not to," Lelouch said dryly. Toeing a single board to indicate the field, he nodded for Rolo to hand off his sword to Gino and saluted, metal singing in the air as it swooshed by his ear. Gino returned the salute, and the game was on.

Gino acted first, a double lunge that, combined with the man's ridiculously long reach, almost scored a point before Lelouch danced back a step, arm crossing to block the sword, sending it sliding harmlessly to his left. As Gino retreated, Lelouch darted forward, thrusting sharply in the direction of Gino's left shoulder. Gino stepped back, crossing his body with his sword before parrying. Lelouch swung at his head at the same time Gino thrust forward. Gino's sword made contact first, the tip resting against the thick oilskin draped over Lelouch's shoulder.

"First blood," Gino announced wryly. Frowning, Lelouch stepped back into starting position, arm raised for balance. Gino settled his free hand in the small of his back and they saluted, slicing the air in sharp, identical movements. Lelouch dove forward in a lunge, coming in under Gino's arm to score a point.

"Two of three?" he asked the man as they stepped back into starting positions.

"Sounds good to me. Match point, then," Gino agreed cordially. Their faces hardened as they saluted again, eyeing each other warily. Gino swung first, striking Lelouch's sword just above the tang with a hit that numbed his fingers. Swearing, Lelouch jerked back, retreating almost to the end of his line before slamming forward with a bruising lunge of his own. Gino parried and returned the hit until the tips of their swords were slicing through the air with deadly accuracy, clashing together like thunder. Lelouch swung to block, the tip of his sword dipping with fatigue, and the edge of Gino's blade slid smooth across his cheek, raising a narrow band of blood. Gino stepped back, horrified.

"Fair game, my lord," Lelouch said, fingertips coming up to test the cut. "Struck true."

"What did you do?" Rolo demanded, voice hushed.

Gino shook his head desperately. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Lelouch said peevishly, smearing the blood across his cheek with his thumb. "It's not deep."

"If it scars--!" Gino protested.

Lelouch shrugged, "Then it scars. It was an accident."

Looking at Lelouch doubtfully, Rolo pulled his face down so he could apply a tincture to the cut. "That doesn't make it okay," Rolo insisted.

"But it doesn't make it wrong, either," Lelouch said simply.

"That was impressive," Kallen cut in. "You're not half as useless as I thought you were," he told Gino. "It's a pity I can't use you on my crew; could you imagine the gossip that would come of a prince fighting on a pirate crew?"

"Yes, imagine," Lelouch replied drolly. Gino's lips twitched in a smile.

"You, on the other hand," she said, turning to eye Lelouch speculatively. "There's something there we can work with. We've just got to unteach you all that fancy stuff."

Lelouch bowed with a flourish, stopping short to wince. "Thank you, but I think I should go lie down. Rolo's vicious," he said ruefully, touching his fingertips tenderly to the bruise on his ribs.

"Well, I know I don't have to worry about him in battle," Kallen agreed, winking to Rolo. Gino laughed. "And now, my lord, it's time we got you back to the brig," she told him.

His face dropped. "Please can't I stay up here for a little longer? Please?" Kallen looked thoughtful, and he rushed on. "It's not like I'd be able to go anywhere. We're surrounded by open sea for mi--oh." He stepped forward, shading his eyes. "Maybe not."

Lelouch looked to where Gino pointed, a dark shape hovering on the horizon. He could make out the gilded side of a pleasure vessel, recognizing it instantly. Looking at Gino, he shook his head. "No, you should go back below. I want to take this one."

"This one?" Kallen scoffed. "What could it possibly be worth? It's just some rich bastard's leisure ship. They don't ever have anything interesting on them. I know it's easy to be lured in by the fancy look of it, but if there's more than three pounds to rub together, I'll be shocked."

Lelouch frowned, shaking his head again. "No, not this one. I have a good feeling about this one; it's worth something."

Kallen shrugged. "If you want to waste your test on small fry like this one, so be it. You only get one test, though, so don't blow it because you're scared to go after something bigger."

Lelouch eyed the Britannian flag as it whipped over the other ship's mast. "No," he said, shifting in readiness. "This is the one I want."

Nodding, Kallen went to alert her men. Gino moved to the rail, squinting at the ship as it drew closer. There were perhaps four men on the deck; at three watches, that meant a total crew of perhaps a dozen, give or take--Gino gasped, drawing back from the rail to stare at Lelouch.

"That's the _Camellia_," he hissed.

Lelouch's smile unfolded slowly, widening. "I know."

Behind them, Tamaki was running the blacks; the only sound on deck was the whipping of the canvas as it was lofted into the wind and the pirates disappeared below. The flag unfurled, revealing a grinning skull flanked by an hourglass and a dagger dripping red blood. They'd made their declaration.

The _Camellia_ drew starboard, aware that she was outmatched. Under Kallen's excellent instruction, the _Egalité_ followed suit, slipping smoothly alongside her. There were only four guns on her side, and _Egalité _outclassed her, six guns trained on her fine, polished wood. Lelouch held his hand up and dropped it in a slashing motion; thunder cracked beneath then, a hole opening in the water before _Camellia_ as he issued the warning shot. If he judged correctly, she wouldn't put up much of a fight. He doubted she'd risk her precious cargo.

"Get below deck, Gino," he ordered calmly. Protesting, Gino started to speak but Lelouch cut him off. "If they recognize you, this whole game is over."

Gino stared at him. "And if they recognize you at the bow?"

"Then they recognize me. It'll lend credence to the captain's claims of capturing me," Lelouch replied evenly. Gino swore, turning to go. He turned back abruptly, opening his mouth to say something, and closed it with a click. "Go, friend," Lelouch murmured soothingly. "I'd feel better if you weren't at risk, anyway."

"I'm supposed to protect you," Gino said frowning.

Lelouch shrugged. "Then do it by keeping my secrets for me. Go back down and pretend to be a prince." Letting out a shuddering sigh, Gino turned, storming back below decks. Lelouch turned to Rolo. "Now help me by making sure they don't shoot me," he instructed, cupping his hand around his mouth.

"Ahoy, there!" he called, hailing the sailors on the deck of the other ship. He could see them clearer now, mostly young sailors. There weren't any familiar faces among them. The ship's owner was nowhere to be seen. Lifting his hand to his mouth again, he yelled, "I say, you there! Sailors of the _Camellia_! Who speaks for you?"

"We make it a point not to speak with pirates!" a voice drifted back over the water. Lelouch dropped his hand, issuing another warning shot. This one grazed the bowsprit, taking off the head of the figurehead.

"Who speaks for you?" he asked again.

The sailors seemed to converse heatedly among themselves. "I will speak for us," one of them yelled back. His golden hair gleamed in the sunlight, and Lelouch's mouth curled in recognition.

"By what right do you speak for the _Camellia_?" he asked sardonically. If the man overplayed his position, it would solve a lot of his own problems, he figured, and waited eagerly for the response.

"I…I am elected to do so!" the man yelled back.

Lelouch let out a sigh he wasn't expecting. This would go painlessly, then. He was relieved to have avoided a murder or kidnapping. "We are the _Egalité, _led by the fearsome Captain Kozuki!" he informed them.

He could practically see the man's eyes roll on the other deck. "I know that. I can read as well as you," the man responded tartly.

Lelouch grinned to himself, deciding to take a risk. He played his hand: "I know your ship."

Silence. Then, "You must have mistaken us with someone else. We're nothing but a pleasure ship, privately owned for the touring of these blue waters."

"Then you won't mind if we board you to look for items--and persons?--of interest," Lelouch suggested, smiling wolfishly.

The man paused. "What are your terms for surrender?" he asked reluctantly.

"I will give you quarter," Lelouch said. Behind him, he heard Kallen hiss in displeasure and shook her off. "In return, you will give me everything of value on your ship. I will know if you omit anything."

"Everything I own in exchange for quarter?" the man summed up dourly.

"Even the chablis!" Lelouch couldn't resist adding playfully. The man swore colorfully. "And the liqueurs!"

"Brigand!" the man called miserably. "Yes, damn you. Even the chablis and liqueurs."

Kallen made a sound of disbelief as Lelouch grinned, gesturing for a nearby seaman to lash the ships together as they neared. The man from the other ship paced unhappily across his deck like a lion as his sailors began loading everything of worth onto the _Egalité_. "How did you know about that?" he demanded, pointing at Lelouch.

At Lelouch's smirk, he paled in recognition. "I told you, sir, I recognize this ship. I'm sure you'll agree that I've dealt with you quite fairly," Lelouch said sensibly.

"How--?" the man sputtered. "You're not--?"

"No," Lelouch agreed smoothly. "I'm not."

"Le--"

Lelouch cut him off with a warning wave. "No names between us, good sir, unless you'd rather I let your own slip?" he suggested. The man shook his head regretfully. A sailor approached, informing Lelouch of the completion of the transfer. Lelouch turned, examining the pile of crates and barrels left in the center of his deck. Satisfied, he nodded at the blond man from the other ship. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, sir."

"I--thank you. For being so gentle with it," the man replied, embarrassed.

"Any time," Lelouch responded silkily. "In fact, next time you're in these waters, I may pay you another visit. You have such delightful hospitality."

"Indeed," the man said, laughing. He hesitated, offering his hand. "I do hope to see you again, under better circumstances. Home, perhaps?"

Lelouch frowned, shrugging away from the gesture. "Unlikely. I'll head to hell before I find myself making port there. No," he added, casting a glance to Kallen, "we're headed for someplace a good deal warmer. Hispaniola, perhaps." His tone was deceptively casual. The man nodded as Lelouch stepped back to his own ship and slashed the lashings.

"I'm going to paint you, you know!" the other man called as the ships drifted apart.

"I rather expected it!" Lelouch yelled back, waving. Kallen snorted with amusement and he turned to her, where she was inspecting the meager pile distrustingly.

"That may have been the most cordial looting I've ever seen," she said, poking at a barrel with the tip of her sword.

"Even moreso than when you took us?" he asked, circling the pile until he found what he was looking for: three crates labeled in French.

"Hm," Kallen hummed in agreement, frowning. "But this is still pitiful pickings," she informed him bluntly. "And you've wasted your chance."

"Oh, that's a pity," he replied absently, cracking the top of one of the cases open with the hilt of his sword. Dark wine bottles gleamed from their straw packing, proudly boasting their incredible age. Kallen gasped and he grinned at her, lifting one out to display it proudly. It was a good vintage; Clovis had always had good taste. "Sometimes there's a great deal more to be found in unexpected places than you may expect from appearances."

She gaped at him and he toasted her, swigging directly from the neck of the bottle.

---

_Chapter Notes: The fencing match is based on my admittedly thin recollections of the rules of engagement in official fencing games. The field of play is a straight line, usually about twelve feet long, and moving from this line is a fault. Foils, epees, and sabers are each types of swords used in fencing; each has its own style and rules. For more info, check out the link on my profile__, where you can read the official rules for the modern sport according to the US Olympic team. For the record? Saber fighting without full chain torso protection and a face mask is really, really dumb._

_Also, the bowsprit is the long pole extending from the front of the ship. Just below it is the figurehead, a carving of a person--usually a woman but sometimes an animal--that distinguishes the ship from all others._


	11. Strike the Bell

_Author's note: Meanwhile, aboard the_ Adventure....

_It's another quick chapter (is there anything but, with me? haha), a little bit short but hopefully still worth it. I hope that this one explains a few things or at least makes them less egregious; I hate leaving a character with a bastardized representation._

_There are a few notes for this chapter at the end; as before, if there's anything you'd like me to explain, please let me know and I'd be glad to! Thanks again (and again and again!) for reading, and for reviewing if you choose to do so!_

_Also, a random note:_ _They've been showing tourism commercials on TV for the places I'm writing about. So pretty and appealing in the dead of winter here in the northern hemisphere, haha._

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**Go No More A-roving: Strike the Bell**

The man had lost his mind. There was no other explanation for why Suzaku was hanging from the rigging, upside down, in gale-force winds. Not that there would be any reason to hang from the rigging on a calm day, that is.

"How's this?" he called. The captain--his new captain, a peer without peer and ample evidence that certain noble families shipped their crazy scions off to sea, if only to be rid of them a while--waved cheerfully back.

"Terrible!" Captain Asplund yelled back cheerfully. "You're staying up there until either you get it right or you faint!" He waved at Suzaku as if wishing a dear loved one a safe voyage. Suzaku sighed, curling around the beam to retie his knots. Who'd ever heard of adding another sail to your ship to see if it would go faster? The ship's mast was a patchwork of cuts and joins from an apparent attempt to find the perfect mast height. Now there was no crow's nest.

Life aboard the _Adventure_ was hugely different, not only for the mad captain. There seemed to be less to do; the shanty man's songs were slower and out of tune, the food terrible. He missed easy conversation and laughter and cloud watching. He missed Lelouch.

Biting his lip, he shook his head to clear it. The blood pooling in the top of his head from hanging must have been having some sort of ill effects; he wasn't normally maudlin. He sighed, checking the knots again. Shrugging down to the captain, he watched the man grin hugely, shaking his head. Frowning, Suzaku pretended to untie the knots and redo them, checking again. Finally, Captain Asplund gave him a thumbs up. Suzaku rolled his eyes and shimmied back to the ground.

"It's perfect!" the captain squealed as the makeshift sail filled with air. The crew on the deck stopped, all eyes on the new stretch of canvas. It surprised no one when a seam split, the sail deflating above them. Suzaku turned to the captain to find the man already looking back.

"Again, sir?" Suzaku groaned. Asplund only shook his head, a small frown settling over his features.

"No," he said unhappily. "It needs to be sewn again before it can go up. I felt us go faster, though, before it burst. Didn't you feel us go faster?"

Suzaku humored him. "Yes, sir. I felt us go a little bit faster."

Captain Asplund grinned widely, scruffing through Suzaku's hair playfully. "You little , liar, you," he said affectionately, humming tunelessly as he wandered away. Suzaku laughed under his breath, strangely melancholy. There weren't many hiding places left on the decks thanks to the captain's meddling, but the head was empty when he perched on the rail by the bowsprit.

It wasn't like Lelouch would give him the time of day, anyway, even if he were here. He'd be fooling himself if he tried to explain away the boy's expression the last time he'd seen him as anything other than heartbreak, and he'd have to be a complete idiot to deny that it was him that put it there. Sighing, Suzaku let his head drop against the bowsprit with a thunk. Why did he always have to do this sort of thing? He'd let his mouth open and all kinds of stupid things had fallen out. And that business with the shilling? He was probably fortunate that Lelouch was so much less physical; Suzaku would have broken the nose of any man he'd heard saying those things to Lelouch. Of course he'd regretted saying it, had reached out to pull the boy closer and soothe the damage done, had thought about trailing behind him to the docks like a puppy abandoned by his master. It had been damnable pride that kept him from it, and the thought that Lelouch'd probably hate him forever if he'd done it. Not that there was much chance he'd forgive him now. His head connected with the wood again; maybe if he hit it hard enough he'd knock some sense into it, he mused.

"Ah, Lieutenant!" Captain Asplund threw an arm over his shoulders. Suzaku swore, righting himself before he tumbled into the net below--or the sea.

"Captain," he greeted, nodding as he slid back to the safety of the wooden planks.

"We'll be making landfall soon. I want to hurry; I've heard there's a great to-do among the ships in Pendragon: the Emperor's issued some sort of challenge, and I want to see if I can win it!" Asplund cried, pumping his fist. Suzaku looked doubtfully at the swells that were rising. The captain waved his hand at Suzaku's concerned expression. "Oh, this is nothing. A little high water; we'll be through it in no time."

"If you say so, sir," Suzaku replied, ducking under the man's arm to head back to the berth for some sleep. His head was throbbing.

"Friendly flag is hailing us, sir!" a sailor called from where he was perched on an unsafe-looking contraption the captain had had rigged for lookouts. "Looks to be the _Defense_!"

Suzaku rushed to the rail, shading his eyes against the spray to look at the ship. Familiar sails and stern loomed dark, rapidly approaching flying the Britannian flag.

"Oho! The _Defense_, eh?" Captain Asplund said cheerfully, sidling next to Suzaku to look at the ship. He aped Suzaku's pose. "Isn't that the one you got kicked off of?" he asked absently.

Suzaku grit his teeth. "Captain Gottwalt's ship, sir. Formerly my commission," he acknowledged.

"We'll see what Jeremiah wants from us, then," Asplund decided, ordering the ship to wait for the _Defense. _The ships were lashed and Suzaku begged permission to visit his friends. Bounding aboard, he headed straight for the _Defense_'s galley. He had no idea what he'd say when he got there, but he could no sooner stop his feet than he could force his heart to stop fluttering like a caged bird. He knocked on the door and thrust it open.

"Lelou--" He froze, mouth open. Cookie looked at him, disgruntled. "Er, sorry, then," Suzaku stammered, backing out of the room. A thought struck him and he headed to the hold, waving jauntily at friends as they passed. Grabbing a lantern from the wall, he searched the hold eagerly, sagging dejectedly against the wall after finding it empty. He didn't dare check the berth and disturb the sailors sleeping.

It was strange that Gino hadn't greeted him, though. An unlikely thought occurred to him: maybe they weren't on the ship at all? But that didn't make sense; where would they have gone? _Adventure_ had stayed in port longer than _Defense_, and he knew they weren't in Trinidad. Frowning in thought, he started back up to the deck, running into a sailor on the way.

"Watch where you're going," the sailor snapped, rushing into the bowels of the ship. Suzaku looked after him, shaking his head, then stepped back onto the deck. Captain Gottwalt stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at him. Suzaku had the grace to blush.

"How do you do, sir?" he asked Gottwalt awkwardly, looking around. The _Defense_'s men looked on, faces solemn.

"He's not here," Gottwalt said bluntly.

A flush rose to Suzaku's cheeks. "I know, sir--he doesn't want to see me, so he's hiding out somewhere. It's okay. I'll go back to the _Adventure_."

Gottwalt looked awkward. "Actually," he said, "he's not here at all. It's why we flagged you down: not even a day after we left Trinidad, we were…beset. The prize was human bounty: they took Lelouch--"

"What?!" Suzaku cried in dismay. "How could you let them--"

"--Gino, the loblolly--his name is Rolo--and one of my able seamen, Cardemonde," the captain continued, irritated. "Their purpose was human bounty, as I said; they'd intercepted a letter I'd foolishly thought would be protected, and knew that we had," he paused, fishing for the right phrase, "persons of interest on board."

"Persons of interest?" Suzaku asked skeptically.

"I…yes. If Lloyd is taking you to Pendragon, there's no point in not telling you--the city's buzzing with gossip about how we lost the lost prince," Gottwalt confessed, obviously embarrassed.

"The lost prince?" Suzaku repeated, frowning. "No, Gino's a duke's son. He's not a prince." Gottwalt stared at him. Blinking, a horrified comprehension dawned on the boy's face. "No. Absolutely not. That's a cruel joke, making me think--I mean, he _can't_--" At the captain's slow nod, Suzaku groaned and buried his face in his hands, shaking. "He--I…I called him a whore," he stammered, weak-kneed. "My god, I called a peer of the realm a whore."

Captain Gottwalt's eyebrow twitched, but he offered a hand in paltry comfort. "Well, I'm sure the fact that you saved his life means something there, too."

"I tried to humiliate him because he hurt my feelings," Suzaku confessed, shaking his head in denial. "I made him _cry_."

Gottwalt shifted uncomfortably. "You should probably…not say these things to me. I'll have to arrest you," he informed Suzaku gently. Suzaku nodded absently, sitting on the stairs. "I'm sure you need some time to think--"

"Pirates. You said he'd been taken by pirates," Suzaku interrupted him. "Is Captain Asplund planning on joining the manhunt?"

"Yes, that's why we stopped you. If you would like to change your commission, there would be a spot for you on our ship again," Gottwalt told him, patting his shoulder awkwardly. Suzaku blinked at him and he continued, "You're a fairly skilled seaman, but you must understand I couldn't let him go."

"Let _him_ go?" Suzaku repeated dully.

"He came to me requesting to be put off. He said that he'd been 'indiscreet' with you and had no intention of stopping, and therefore needed to be put off," Gottwalt clarified. Suzaku groaned, sinking miserably into his hands. "You know there was no chance I'd put him off. Not when I'd only just found him."

"I'm an ass," Suzaku informed him. "A great, stupid, stupid ass. With a side of cruel bastard."

Gottwalt frowned, patting his shoulder again. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." Suzaku shook his head numbly, peering through his fingers at the wooden stairs. "But," the captain coughed, changing the subject, "there would be a spot here for you, if you would like to join us for the search."

"No," Suzaku said, surprising even himself. "The man is mad and the ship a mess, but it's the fastest one in the fleet. He's made sure of that. We'd be in Hispaniola before the waters warmed around your ship."

Nodding, Captain Gottwalt turned to go. He paused on the stair, offering an uneasy smile. "We'll find him, Kururugi. I know we will."

"I hope so," Suzaku murmured, lost. "I do hope so."

---

_Chapter notes: This update's song is a fun one! I was torn between this one and "Topman and the Afterguard", both of which playfully jibe at the disconnect between the captain and crew of a ship. Unfortunately, "Topman" didn't have any good stealable phrases (beyond "may the divil double-triple-damn him", which is too long, even for me)._


	12. Let Your Hearts Never Fail

_Author's Note: As was requested in the reviews for the last update, a few explanations: to "give quarter" means to permit escape, usually in exchange for monetary goods. Therefore, when Lelouch tells Clovis that he will give quarter, he is saying basically, "Give me what I want and I won't hurt you." As for chablis, it's a type of French wine._

_This update, we finally see the castle (or part of it, anyway) and even more familiar faces. Don't flay me for this one!_

_And of course, as always, my eternal gratitude to my readers and reviewers! I do honestly read and consider every one of them, so please don't be afraid to speak up! _

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**Go No More A-roving: Let Your Hearts Never Fail**

It was a testament to the rough seas that Suzaku was bent over the rail at the head, guts spewing. He hadn't gotten sick like this since his first days as ship's boy at the tender age of ten. Then again, he reminded himself distantly, he hadn't had such a shock to the system in the middle of a raging storm before. He flopped back to the deck with a groan and wiped the spittle from his mouth on the back of his hand. Above him, the sky cracked with lightning as the ship was tossed on the sea below him. Rain fell into his eyes and he shaded his face woozily.

"Captain Gottwalt didn't tell me you had no head for foul seas," Captain Asplund said peevishly, standing over Suzaku's head. Suzaku moaned, rolling to the side to retch on the man's boots. Asplund's expression of irritation was tempered with concern as he reached to smooth Suzaku's hair from his forehead. "Go on, then," he told the sailor. "Best you get down below before you're blown off the deck."

Suzaku crawled to his knees and winced, smiling gratefully at the man as he staggered back to his hammock. The ship rocked queasily and he shivered, curling onto his side.

Lelouch was a prince. _Lelouch_ was a prince. Lelouch was a _prince_. No matter how he said it, he couldn't draw any meaning from the words; it was as if they were disjointed sounds strung together for the sake of stringing them together. Chair orange level, he pondered. Nonsense.

And yet here they were, racing through the storm on their way to Pendragon to register their claim with the Emperor. Lelouch's father, the father the boy had been so reluctant to talk about--though, reluctant to talk about his own, Suzaku had never pressed--the father that ruled Britannia, not to mention almost half the known world. The doting father, offering more than two thousand pounds' reward for the retrieval of his son, lost all these years and desperately missed.

And yet. And yet he hadn't been the one to bring Lelouch in from the cold, to watch the blush of warmth creep back into limbs pale with cold, to see the quiet, serious boy learn to lean back and watch the clouds as they drifted by in the endless, boundless freedom of the blue sky stretching horizon to horizon with nothing but wispy scraps of white to hold it up. And part of him couldn't help but wonder: if Lelouch had known there was a home to go back to, why would he freeze on the streets?

Suzaku's stomach clenched and he pressed a fist into it, curling around himself. Nausea bubbled up as he considered for the hundredth time the way things had ended between them. His sigh was shaky as he settled against the canvas; there was no sense dwelling on the things he couldn't change now. He closed his eyes tightly, lashes damp and spiky against his cheek, and willed himself to uneasy sleep.

When he woke, the ship's violent rocking had calmed into a gentle swaying. All around him, he could hear the sounds of bone-tired men shuffling back into their beds after a long night at their captain's unreasonable hands. He still felt a bit weak as he hefted himself from the hammock's comforting hold, his joints wobbling to connect with the firm floor. Pinching his shirt in disgust, he shucked it and rifled through his sea bag for a clean one, throwing on his jacket and nosing the collar. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine the boy's scent on it, though he knew that's all it was: imagination. Unable to stop himself, he held the fabric to his face, imagining he could catch, under the salt ocean smell, the faintest hint of tea. Something sharp--citrus--like oranges or lemons or bergamot, his memory prompted, offering with it the almost tangible memory of tasting sweaty skin beneath his lips as a thin, pliant body arched against him. Lelouch.

--_Prince_ Lelouch, his memory traitorously whispered. Prince Lelouch, kidnapped by pirates to be offered as bounty to his father, the Emperor. Suzaku twitched, suddenly nauseous again. It wouldn't have happened, he thought irrationally, if he'd been there to protect him. If he hadn't forced the boy--the bleeding _prince_! His mind still couldn't parse it--into a corner, if he'd said something to Gottwalt, if he'd just done _something_ so the boy wasn't all alone on a pirate's ship only god knew where, he'd…. Well, at least he would know where Lelouch was right then, instead of worrying.

Shaking his head to clear it, he bounded up the stairs to the deck, taking in the sight of the expedition crew preparing the winch to lower their smaller boat into the water. Captain Asplund was digging through a pack enthusiastically, tossing strange sundries around as he searched. "Aha!" he cried, holding up the strangest looking sextant Suzaku had ever seen, admiring its gleam in the sunlight. Turning to lift an eyebrow at the bustling docks that were clearly visible from the deck, Suzaku figured that if the captain thought they'd lost their way--

"I was wondering when you'd finally get up here," Asplund said cheerfully, tweaking the knobs on the instrument toward some imaginary horizon that didn't even remotely resemble the one before them--in fact, it looked as if it was aimed at the china shop at the end of the pier. Suzaku blinked. The captain continued blithely, peering at the instrument to take some obscure measurement unreadable by any sane man. "I thought we'd have to leave you behind."

"Leave me behind?" Suzaku repeated, confused.

Asplund lowered the sextant and looked at him expectantly. "I'd rather assumed you'd want to go, since you're so vested in the task at hand and all. Was I wrong?"

Suzaku shook his head. "No, sir. I just…where? What are we doing?"

Sighing, Asplund folded the sextant under his arm in exasperation. "We're going to Pendragon Castle, of course, to speak with the Emperor and register our seach. That way, if you find him, I'll get the credit for it!" At Suzaku's poleaxed expression, Asplund huffed. "I'd bet you don't even have your things ready to go, do you?"

Suzaku shook his head mutely.

"Go on, then," the captain shooed, waving him back below deck. "Go get it. We're leaving as soon as I can get this boat into the water!"

The tiny boat rocked and swayed they approached the city. Suzaku watched the dock approach, then stared after it as they passed. He turned to ask the captain where they were going, but stopped mutely, taken aback by Asplund's suddenly sober countenance. The nose of their craft nudged its way toward a guarded steel grate that covered what looked to be a sewer exit. The guards nodded graciously to Captain Asplund, who nodded back. They grunted as they lifted the grate, and the boat slipped into midnight black.

Suzaku was surprised to hear a current, though the boat felt perfectly still. He dipped his fingers into the water beside the craft and was further shocked at how it eddied and pulled around his fingers. The sailors drew in their oars to keep from losing them in the stream.

"We won't be able to get back out this way," Suzaku realized.

Asplund shook his head. "They don't want to see ships loitering about the gate. There's an exit on the other side of the castle, though we'll probably leave another way. Our boat will be returned to us," he said. He pointed to the yellow flickering of reflected light ahead. "Don't say anything when we get there. I'll speak for you."

Nodding, Suzaku leaned forward as they drew closer to the light. Finally, they were drawn from the end of the tunnel into a small stone room. A wooden pier and a solitary door at the top of a short flight of stairs waited for them, as did a man wearing the livery of the House of Britannia. The man bowed to them as the sailors tied the boat to the pier and helped the captain out, moving to stand behind him in a flank.

"I have an appointment with His Majesty," Captain Asplund said crisply, and the man nodded, bowing. Suzaku trailed behind as the man led them up the stairs and through the door, and he gasped when he stepped through.

Every inch of the antechamber was decorated, but in a way that suggested an ancient wealth. Polished glass mirrors hung from the walls and gleaming wall sconces held perfectly white beeswax candles. Even the floor's quartz floor tiles held a subtle tracery of gold. The servant led them obliquely, as if the extravagance was perfectly commonplace. To him, it probably was.

Outside the chamber, they trailed through a hallway lined with wide windows and velvet curtains. A painting on the wall bore the uninterested features of the Crown Prince Schneizel, set next to inherit the throne after his brother Odysseus's horse riding accident. There had been nasty rumors about that one, made all the worse by the memory of distant political intrigues supposedly perpetuated by the blond prince. Suzaku had never really had a head for royal gossip before, and he flushed to realize how little he actually knew about the family he served. He was wondering if there was a painting of Lelouch around when he was distracted by loud voices in one of the side rooms.

"I swear to you, I saw him! I saw Lelouch!" a man cried, and Suzaku froze. Glancing at the others, he reckoned the hall was long enough that he wouldn't lose sight of them. He listened.

"Clovis, I do believe you were accosted by pirates. Pirates with an uncanny knowledge of your love for fine alcohols, may be, but the fact that the pirates knew to ask for booze hidden on _your_ ship doesn't mean that the pirate was our brother," a woman replied in an exasperated tone.

"But Cornelia--"

"No, Clovis," the woman said wearily. It sounded like a conversation that had been repeated, word for word, several times before. She was getting tired of it, apparently. "I will not lend you my fleet to go jaunting through the East Indies to find our brother, who might not even be there."

"You know as well as I do that Gottwalt said he'd been taken by pirates!" Clovis retorted.

"I know that Gottwalt thought he'd found him, and I know that Gottwalt's actions got that poor boy taken by pirates, but no one but you actually thinks it was Lelouch," Cornelia told him. Gently, she continued, "I know you want it to be him--"

"I don't know why you don't want it to be him," Clovis cut in stubbornly.

Cornelia sighed. "Because if it is him, why couldn't we find him? If he were still alive at all--"

"Don't say that!" Clovis's voice held a note of hysteria.

"If he were still alive at all," Cornelia repeated carefully, "he would have found his way home by now. Why haven't we found him, when there are hundreds of people all over the empire claiming every day that they've seen him?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found?" Clovis suggested desperately.

"Listening at doors is a bad habit," a soft voice whispered by Suzaku's ear. He jumped, turning to face a young noble girl. Her lovely pink hair was bound loosely behind her, and her expression was warm. "They're talking about whether or not my brother is alive," she said, cocking her head to the side to regard him.

"I-I know," Suzaku said, dropping into an automatic kneel. "Your Highness--" he started.

"Euphie," she corrected gently. He stared at her, bewildered as she smiled at him. "I think you know him," she said at length. "My brother. Lelouch."

---

_Chapter Notes: This chapter's title comes from the song _(The Bonnie Ship) The Diamond, _another rollicking fun song about sailors on a whaling vessel leaving. My favorite part is the last verse, where they basically claim that when they get back to town they intend to knock up every single girl in town, haha. _


	13. A Grand Old Town

_Author's Note: A little short, this one. I thought I'd get it out a little bit early since I'm going out of town this weekend and there won't be another update until probably Monday at the earliest. There's a lot of back story this update!_

_I'm really pleasantly astonished by all of the great attention this fic has been getting. Normally, my writing doesn't seem to garner much interest, and I've already received almost 90 reviews for this one! I just hope that I can earn and maintain the interest that you guys are giving me. A million thanks to my readers, without whom this fic would be sitting, lonely, in some forgotten reaches of the interwebs._

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**Go No More A-roving: A Grand Old Town**

His first impression: pink. Shuffling into the room behind the young princess, Suzaku flushed at the distaste clear on the guards' faces as they took in his appearance. Euphie didn't say anything as she tugged him by the hand, leading him to a chair covered in pale gold damask. Afraid to damage the fine fabric, he stood there awkwardly when she gestured he sit, then shoved him into the chair, leaning forward eagerly from her own.

"Tell me about him," she begged, clasping his hand in both of hers.

He was breathless at her resemblance to him, subtle in some ways--the way her hands moved, the way she seemed to expect his loyalty as if there were no question that he should immediately do as she wanted--and obvious in others--the fire in her eyes as she waited impatiently, the shape of her nose and the curve of her jaw that invited his hand to trace familiar planes. He sat back, clearing his throat. "What do you want to know?"

"How is he? Is he healthy? Is he _happy_? Does he," she stopped, examining her nails, afraid. "Does he miss us? Because we miss him; at least I do, and Nunnally, too."

Suzaku bit his lip. "He's healthy. Surprisingly so, considering--"

"Considering?" Euphie prompted.

"Well, he _was_ homeless," Suzaku admitted. "And Pendragon's not exactly kind to her poorer denizens."

Euphie looked at him, confused. "But there are special homes for the poor, and charities to help them. I volunteer at one, myself. My father has granted it a considerable pension, and created more like it."

Suzaku hummed in agreement, but shook his head. "But there are so many people in the city, Your Highness--"

"Euphie," she reminded him, smiling.

"--Euphie," he corrected himself, smiling back. "There are so many people in the city, and so few of these resources for them. And many of the poor won't accept charity; they'd rather work for what they have. Besides, could Lelouch have asked assistance from the Emperor and been allowed to stay away?"

"But why would he want to stay away?" Euphie asked sadly. Suzaku took her hand, patting it soothingly. She smiled and he realized what he was doing, dropping the hand and pulling his own back to fold on his lap. Her smile wavered.

"I don't know, Your Highness," he confessed. "He wouldn't tell me, only that he was grateful to have somewhere to live that wasn't Pendragon."

Euphie sighed, drooping. "Is he happy, at least? Even if we do miss him terribly here, is he happy, playing the Wild Rover?"

Suzaku hesitated. Euphie turned liquid eyes on him and he crumbled, words spilling from him unbidden. "We quarreled, Your Highness, when I saw him last, and my commission was traded. But," he said thoughtfully, "I think he was. Happy, I mean. He seemed happy." He thought of the expression on Lelouch's face when the boy had thought no one was looking and nodded. Happy, before Suzaku and his ridiculously cruel behavior. Perhaps even happy again, he thought unhappily, without Suzaku.

Euphie's warm hand covered his gently. He looked at her, and her smile was sweet. "I'm sure he's already forgiven you," she said sympathetically.

He snorted, laughing. "Lelouch? Forgiven me?"

She bit her lip, then shook her head, giggling. "No, you're right. You'll have to beg his forgiveness when you find him." She squeezed his hand, then. "I'm sure you will find him, though. I'm glad he has a friend like you."

She rose, pulling him by the hand again impulsively. "Come, there's someone I want you to meet," she said, dragging him behind her as she led him through the labyrinth of halls to another room. Sunlight sparkled on the clear glass windows overlooking a small courtyard filled with roses. There was a piano in the room, and seated beside it was a small girl. "This is Nunnally. She's Lelouch's favorite," Euphie told him confidentially. "They share the same mother, like Cornelia and I."

"Euphie?" the girl asked, turning toward the sound, and Suzaku realized with a start that she was blind.

Euphie dragged him closer and pushed his hand into one of Nunnally's raised ones. "Nunnally, this is--" she broke off, realizing she'd never asked his name.

"Lieutenant Kururugi," he supplied. "Suzaku."

"--Suzaku," Euphie continued. "He's Lelouch's friend. He's going to find him and bring him back to you."

The small girl drew in a sharp breath, crying out. "Really?" She drew his hand closer, kissing the knuckles gratefully. "Thank you! Thank you, Suzaku!"

Suzaku's heart tugged toward the little princess and he knelt beside her, smile threatening to split his face. "I promise you, Nunnally, that I'll bring him back to you, even if I have to drag him here myself."

Nunnally sighed happily, sinking back against her chair. "Tell me about him," she murmured, and he grinned at Euphie, who beamed back.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Everything," Nunnally breathed. "Everything."

"He's…" Suzaku started, fumbling for a beginning. He frowned. Closing his eyes, an image of Lelouch bloomed before him. "He's tall. Not…not tall like one of the guards, but tall for Lelouch," he said, and she nodded, enraptured. "And he's so skinny it worries me sometimes, because he should eat more. And he's a wuss," he laughed. "He can't carry anything heavier than fifty pounds and gets tired really easily. He's lazy, but he works hard at the same time. The way he frowns when he's concentrating--" His mind's eye drifted to the memory, sweeping from the dark hair to the knit eyebrows and the moue of his lips. His heart throbbed and he fell silent, still holding her hand. "He's…"

"You love him," Nunnally decided, and he turned to stare at her. She kissed his knuckles again. "You do."

"I--" He considered lying, denying it, but her soft smile hadn't changed. Lowering his head and blushing furiously, he confided, "I do."

"Good," she said, nodding. "I'm glad he has someone who cares about him. Tell me more," she prompted.

"He's so…. The way he smiles when he thinks no one's looking," Suzaku sighed, remembering. "And the way he gets offended so easily. And how sometimes, he gets so happy he can't help pretending to be grumpy and mean just to remind himself that he can be.

"I miss him," he whispered, trailing off. Nunnally's fingertips fluttered up the side of his face to pet his hair comfortingly.

"I know," she said, smoothing his unruly curls back from his forehead.

"I was such an idiot," Suzaku spat, growling. "I should have never--"

"I know my brother, Suzaku," Nunnally interrupted him calmly. "I'm sure he was just as responsible as you were. He's so stubborn."

"Why--" Suzaku began, clearing his throat. "Why did he leave Pendragon?" he asked.

The girls were silent. Euphie drew a chair next to Nunnally and ushered him to sit, perching on the piano bench, herself. She took a deep breath. "Lelouch's mother died giving birth to Nunnally. It was complications with that birth that led to…," Euphie gestured to her sister and the chair she was sitting in.

"Father loved Mother, much more than he had most of his other wives, and he spoiled us terribly," Nunnally added quietly. "We never wanted anything, but Lelouch looks so much like her…. He never came to see us, but anything we could think of would appear before us, almost before we'd finished the thought."

"Father remarried when Lelouch was twelve. Lelouch couldn't understand how Father could replace his mother. He believed that, when you love someone once, you love them forever, and to remarry--to have more children--is to deny that first love," Euphie continued. She shook her head sadly. "He was still a child, and he thought that his mother was being forgotten.

"He confronted Father about this, and Father told him that he'd had wives before Marianne, and, god willing, he'd have wives after. Lelouch was furious."

"But it was true," Nunnally cut in. "Our mother was already the third, and he shouldn't have expected Father to mourn her forever."

"So he ran away?" Suzaku asked.

Euphie nodded, then shook her head. "Not really. He demanded Father call off the wedding, and threatened to renounce his title if he wouldn't. Father told him that he had enough princes, and that his new bride could provide him more if he wanted them, therefore Lelouch was free to do as he wished. So Lelouch declared that he wasn't a prince anymore, and for that matter, no longer part of our family at all. Then he stormed out and disappeared."

"Father didn't even look for him for a year, so sure he'd come back," Nunnally added. "But he didn't, and a year turned into two, then three, then six. By the time we were looking, he was gone. Some of them thought he was dead."

"But then Captain Gottwalt came along with his story about pirates, and now here you are! And I believe you do know him, and that the boy you know is our brother," Euphie said cheerfully.

"And you'll find him and bring him back to us," Nunnally added, smiling.

Swallowing, Suzaku nodded solemnly. "I will. I promise it."

As Euphie called a guard to escort him back to Captain Asplund's group, he pondered the situation. He doubted Lelouch would even speak to him, much less accompany him back to Pendragon, even for his sisters. Sighing, he moved to stand, then stopped at the touch of Nunnally's hand on his arm.

"Suzaku," she said quietly. "No matter how angry he is with you, I'm sure my brother will get over it. He loves with his whole heart. I'm sure he misses you, too."

Catching her hand in his, Suzaku smiled against her fingertips. Her answering smile was like sunshine. "I hope you're right," he said, and she nodded.

"I'm sure of it."

---

_Chapter Notes: This update's song is South Australia, which was (you may recall) sung by Lelouch in chapter 7. There's also reference to the Wild Rover here, a folk song about a young man who has decided that he is tired of wandering the world and goes home to his family, promising 'I'll return to my parents, confess what I've done/and ask them to pardon their prodigal son/and if they forgive me as oft times before/I never shall play the wild rover no more.'_


	14. The Pirate Enemy

_Author's Notes: So, apparently I can't stay away from this fic? Haha. All weekend long through my conference I was sneaking between meetings to get more of Roving written. I hope you guys like the update!_

_And we've hit the 100 reviews milestone! I'm really awed and thankful; normally I'm lucky if I get more than five, so 100 is absolutely unbelievable to me. Even more, with over 5000 readers, this is the first fic I've written that's received pretty much any attention so far. It makes me so incredibly happy that so many people are reading it (and enjoying it, I hope)._

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**Go No More A-roving: The Pirate Enemy**

Clear water broke on either side of the ship's bow, splitting to form furls of crystal blue tipped with foamy white. There were dolphins on the left side as they raced toward Hispaniola--good luck. Terribly good luck. Suzaku hoped it held.

The _Adventure_ really was the fastest ship in the fleet. How he'd ever doubted it, he'd never know. They'd outstripped the other ships in the harbor by nearly three lengths in an hour, and now they raced toward the islands with all the skill and speed that Captain Asplund's men could muster. Grim, determined faces replaced the playful joviality of before as they hurtled through the water, aided by the captain's strange additions to the ship.

Behind him, Asplund himself was soberly clutching his map, gesturing wildly to the navigator. "I tell you, that woman has something to do with this disappearance," he was saying, tone strident.

"Captain, sir," the navigator said nervously. "I don't see how--"

"I know it!" Asplund insisted. "It's that woman!"

Suzaku turned to the sailor next to him, tilting his head confidentially. "'That woman'?"

"Rakshata," the sailor whispered cryptically.

"Who's Rakshata?" Suzaku asked aloud. The sailor drew back in horror.

"Who said that? Who said that name?" Captain Asplund demanded. When Suzaku raised his hand in confusion, he was taken aback by the captain's irritated glare. "_Rakshata_," Asplund hissed, "is a blasphemer of the spirit of science. She helps those…those thieves rob innocent Britannian sailors."

"A pirate?" Suzaku asked, something in him quickening in recognition.

"The very lowest, foulest pirate!" Asplund said fervently, turning back to the navigator. "And she has a base in Havana, which happens to be quite near where we've heard the _Egalité _will be."

"Hispaniola is not 'quite near' Cuba," the navigator retorted patiently.

"Near enough!" Asplund insisted pleadingly. "Please? I know we've got to find the prince, but I want to make sure she's not up to something."

"Actually, sir," Suzaku cut in, thinking. "I agree with you. They're hiding a bounty of over two thousand pounds; what's the best place to hide something that valuable? Among thieves, of course. I agree--that would be the place I'd check first."

"See? Lieutenant Kururugi agrees with me! And he was the one that knows the prince, so…." Asplund said, pointing. The navigator sighed, nodding reluctantly. Asplund cheered, throwing an arm around Suzaku's shoulders. "I knew there was something worth considering when Jeremiah came to me with that proposal. An able seaman, yes, and responsible and hard-working as he said, but smart enough to know when something's important. We won't let Rakshata get the best of us again, no sir!"

"And Lelouch, sir," Suzaku reminded him gently.

"And Prince What's-his-face," Asplund agreed, waving a hand dismissively. Well, that was probably the best that he'd get from the man, Suzaku reasoned, satisfied.

It was nerve-wracking to pass Hispaniola, though. His stomach rolled as they passed Santo Domingo, troubled by the possibility that they were drifting away from the prince. He held his breath as it floated by, fingers crossed. That night, he woke in a cold sweat, terrified dreams swirling in his mind. Visions of Lelouch, lost, sun-parched and sun-drunk stumbling through sand to collapse at the sea's edge lingered behind his eyelids for half an hour as he lay in his hammock, pretending to sleep. The bells rang once, twice, and a cry rang out above deck: land had been sighted. Cuba.

He jumped into action so quickly that the hammock flipped, dropping him on the floor. Wincing, he rubbed his aching elbows as he threw on his uniform, pitching himself up the stairs to the rail. Some time in the night, they'd rounded the end of the island and the city of Havana opened before them like a glittering green jewel on the ocean. He waited for the navigator to hail the port and watched, confused, as the Adventure kept moving, Havana shifting on the horizon to be replaced by a series of narrow, secret inlets dark with promise. He heard the winch prepared and turned to look at Captain Asplund. Asplund raised an eyebrow. Suzaku nodded and grinned.

The captain seemed to know where he was going; he led them through the mangroves, the air going dark and almost ominous where the trees met overhead. All around them, wild birds called to each other. The oars thunked dully against the wood, the only sound beyond their hushed breathing that humans had ever entered the wood. Finally, they shoved the boat around the corner, and Suzaku gasped quietly.

The cove was easily the most beautiful place he'd ever seen in his life. Woven into the mangroves, dozens of tiny wooden buildings were only distinguishable from the trees by their rope bridges strung between the branches like spider webs. The lagoon they surrounded was perfectly clear, filled with brilliantly colored sea life that darted in and out of the exposed roots. A row of tiny shallow boats bobbed at the far end of the lagoon.

What struck him first was the feeling of hominess. There were children playing in the ropes between two of the smaller buildings, shrieking and splashing each other. Brightly colored gauze curtains hung in open windows, lifting on the breeze to waft like banners. A sharp cry broke his awed fascination; one of the children was standing ramrod straight, pointing at their little boat. Captain Asplund swore under his breath.

They were besieged almost before they'd had a chance to blink. The tip of a staff was slammed between Suzaku's shoulder blades, driving him against the side of the boat. Glaring up, he was faced with a stone-faced pirate. The man grabbed his shoulder and yanked him from the boat. Suzaku stumbled among the tree roots, almost turning his ankle until he managed to find the cleverly hidden footpath beside the boat. Before him, Captain Asplund was dragged from the boat and elbowed roughly down the path. The crew was manhandled up the path to a low-set building behind the compound. Opening the door with a crash, the pirates sent them crashing to the floor. Near his head, a pair of heeled boots tapped impatiently. Tobacco ash filtered down to streak against his cheek. A tall blonde woman bent low over him inquisitively.

"You've got a pretty new lieutenant, Lloyd," she said thoughtfully, scratching at his cheek with long, lacquered fingernails. "Very pretty."

"He's useful enough," Captain Asplund said pleasantly.

"Nasty habits, though. Did you warn him about the dangers of peeking?" she asked, slapping Suzaku's cheek playfully. A nail dragged along his cheek, raising a thin welt in its wake.

"Are you damaging my lieutenant, Rakshata?" Asplund asked, warning in his voice.

"Not at all. Am I?" she replied smoothly. Suzaku shook his head uncertainly. "See?" she said, laughing. "He likes it when it hurts a little, don't you?" She grinned roguishly.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to stop molesting my lieutenant, Rakshata," Asplund said, voice getting waspy.

Rakshata laughed darkly. "You'd rather I molested you?"

"I'd rather you'd kept your hands to yourself," he snapped.

Her laugh this time was throaty. From the corner of his eye, Suzaku watched her kneel next to his captain, stroking a hand through his hair. Asplund's eye twitched. "Then why are you here, Lloyd?" she murmured, petting him. The captain remained stubbornly silent.

"We're looking for someone," Suzaku blurted. Asplund glared at him and he continued blithely. "I just want to find him, sir. I need to find him."

"Who are you looking for, little lieutenant?" Rakshata's voice held a note of interest dangerously close to the captain's. Suzaku blushed hard and her mouth fell into an 'o' of amused surprise. "Your lover, perhaps." At his deeper blush, she crowed triumphantly. "Lloyd's pretty lieutenant has misplaced his boy?"

"N-no," Suzaku demurred belatedly. "I…he's not--"

"Are you lying to me, little lieutenant?" she hummed. "No matter. _Your_ motives are pure. You are acquitted." She turned to Captain Asplund. "Now _you_ on the other hand…."

"You, talking about purity?" he responded, laughing. She stamped her heel next to his head and he gulped. "He tells the truth. We're just looking for a sailor that was removed from the _Defense_--"

"_Defense_?" Rakshata interrupted silkily. "I know the ship."

"Good for you." Asplund's retort was tart. Rakshata lifted her boot again and his jaw clicked shut.

"I'm passing familiar with the situation," she informed him. "Let me be to the point--I do protect the sailors you would seek to punish for this. What do you have to offer me?"

"We don't need to punish them," Suzaku said, turning to Asplund for confirmation. The captain rolled his eyes. "We don't," Suzaku told him firmly. "We just want our boys back."

"Boys?" Rakshata asked, lifting an eyebrow. "You want more of them now?"

Suzaku bit his lip. "Just one, then."

"Which one?" she purred, tapping her long pipe against her hand in a fluid gesture.

"I…just him. Please, just…" Suzaku trailed off, blinking back sudden tears.

"You beg so prettily." At the snap of her fingers, the boy from earlier appeared in the doorway. She murmured softly in his ear and he disappeared. Turning back to Suzaku, she grinned widely. "I like you. That's why I'm going to give you a present." The curtain behind her swayed and the door swung open. Suzaku sat up to stare.

Framed in the doorway, Lelouch looked wind-tossed and winsome, but healthy. His eyes widened as he looked at Suzaku, expression darkening like a thundercloud. As Suzaku struggled to his feet, Lelouch strode into the room, stopping directly in front of him. Suzaku bit his lip. Lelouch punched him.

On the floor again, Suzaku winced, working his jaw. For Lelouch to have that kind of power behind his punch… "I'm sorry, Lelouch," he whispered, eyes drawn to the floor and cheeks heating up. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Why are you even here?" Lelouch demanded, rubbing ruefully at his knuckles.

"I was worried about you. When I heard what had happened…." Suzaku fell silent, suddenly remembering what _else_ he'd learned. "…and your sisters sent me. They were worried about you."

"Now I know you're lying," Lelouch growled, rearing back to punch him again. When Suzaku didn't even flinch, he fell back, defeated. "You talked to my sisters? How…. What did they say?"

"They said they miss you," Suzaku said softly, an unspoken _…too _hanging in the air between them. "They said that they loved you and that they only wanted to see you home and happy again."

"Home and happy can't happen at the same time," Lelouch muttered, instantly transformed from the confident pirate to the little boy afraid of being abandoned. Suzaku wet his lips and tried to speak. The words wouldn't come. He reached for Lelouch's hand and the prince let him hold it, stroking over delicate skin tenderly.

"What part of 'don't do it again, you idiot' did you not understand?" Lelouch asked, flexing his fingers in Suzaku's grip. Wounded, Suzaku pulled his hand back, but Lelouch kept it, pulling Suzaku to his feet. "I hated you so much when you did that the first time. Why would you do it again?"

"Because I'm an idiot," Suzaku said. He shook his head, a sad smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Because I'm selfish, and cruel, and don't deserve your forgiveness."

"Well, you won't get it, anyway," Lelouch told him bluntly. Suzaku nodded, blushing, and tried to pull back but was still caught by Lelouch's hands. "You…the things you _said_--" He choked.

"I'm sorry. I am," Suzaku said earnestly, squeezing his held hand into a fist. "It was so far beyond inappropriate that I just…." He stopped, frustrated.

"My goodness," Rakshata murmured. "Now I want to know what you _said_."

Suzaku shook his head. "I'm not going to repeat it, even just as an example."

Rakshata pouted, then smiled wickedly. "What if I say it's terms for the exchange?"

"I thought you said it was a gift?" Suzaku shot back. She beamed.

"Gift? What exchange?" Lelouch cut in.

"I'm here to rescue you, Lelouch," Suzaku remembered, cupping Lelouch's hands in his own. Lelouch frowned. "What's wrong?" Suzaku asked, concerned.

"I don't want to be rescued," Lelouch said finally, drawing away from him. Suzaku stepped to reach for him again and he held a hand up, stopping him. "I'd rather stay here."

Suzaku goggled at him. "You can't stay here! It's unsafe!"

Lelouch shook his head. "It's safer than the streets were, and I don't care if I'm safe or not--I'm not going back there."

Suzaku's heart dropped. "What about your family? Your sisters said they missed you!"

"And I miss them, too," Lelouch admitted. "I want to see them again, but I can't. I'm not going back."

"So, what, you'll spend the rest of your days a brigand and a thief, and then someday they'll hang you for piracy?" Suzaku demanded. Lelouch glared at him halfheartedly. "Please come back with us," Suzaku pleaded, curling his fingers around Lelouch's wrists to draw him closer slowly.

"Why don't you stay here with me?" Lelouch suggested. Suzaku shook his head and sighed.

"Now, really. Who said anything about leaving?" Rakshata cut in. Her tone was amused, but something in the set of her shoulders told Suzaku she was serious.

"You said he was a 'present'!" he reminded her. Lelouch scoffed indignantly.

Rakshata laughed. "How presumptuous. You can have him--if you can tame him--but he's not going anywhere. Neither, for that matter, are you."

Suzaku gaped at her as realization set in: thanks to his captain, he'd found Lelouch, but now they were _all_ captives.

---

_Chapter Notes: This title is again from "High Barbaree", a song about a naval battle with pirates along the coast of North Africa. Also, because I never explained it before: a sextant is a triangle-shaped nautical tool used in navigation; it is pointed at the horizon to determine latitude. In the chapter, Lloyd is definitively using it wrong (though perhaps correctly to his own ends, all things considered!)._


	15. Our Tropical Home

_Author's Note: This one has taken a bit because I'm in the middle of moving. Unfortunately, this means that this may be the last update at my usual quick pace, at least for a little while until the internet can be set up in the new place. _

_As always and ever, thanks to everyone who's read and enjoyed! This one's porny again, so consider it a reward for patiently waiting for an update, haha._

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**Go No More A-roving: Our Tropical Home**

Suzaku had never celebrated his own kidnapping before. It was strange to say the least, sitting there around the fire beneath a perfect Caribbean night, knowing that the cause of all the merriment surrounding him was his own capture. He was grateful for Lelouch's presence at his elbow.

"They're not so bad, really," Lelouch murmured quietly. "They've been very kind to me."

"Well, it's hard not to be," Suzaku remarked, smiling at him.

"You managed," Lelouch muttered, cheeks pink. Hurt, and more surprised by it than he wanted to be, Suzaku turned his face away, staring across the fire to the lagoon, where Gino, Rolo, and Rivalz sat, conspiring over something. He watched their heads bow together and Gino turned slightly, glancing their way. His eyes met Suzaku's, and the blond man tilted his head in invitation. Turning back to Lelouch, he caught him watching the exchange out of the corner of his eye and frowned, reaching down to capture Lelouch's hand between two of his own. Lelouch flushed, a tiny smile on his lips, and squeezed Suzaku's fingers. Gino grinned and Suzaku bit back the impulse to send him a rude hand gesture.

"You can go over there if you want to," Lelouch said softly. "I know they're your friends. You wouldn't believe how mad at me Gino was when you got transferred."

Suzaku chuckled, inching closer to Lelouch on the root they were sharing. Lelouch pretended not to notice, but his blush deepened. "I've known Gino a long time. We took our lieutenant's exams together."

Nodding absently, Lelouch bit his lip. "You know I didn't mean for you to be transferred, I hope. I'm really sorry about that."

"I know," Suzaku said. The heat from Lelouch's arm was radiating through the fabric of his sleeve and he shivered, drawing closer to him. "_I_ hope Gino wasn't too hard on you."

"If I'd done what he told me to do, it wouldn't have happened," Lelouch admitted. "And then later, if I'd minded what he said, I wouldn't have followed you to the…made a big scene," he amended lamely. "He told me to stay put, and if I hadn't been a willful idiot--"

"You're not an idiot," Suzaku denied. "I am, for going there at all. For thinking that I could drown my sorrows in someone else's arms."

"I didn't have any kind of claim on you anymore," Lelouch said shyly, even as Suzaku shook his head.

"Of course you did. You always will."

Lelouch froze and Suzaku cursed himself for a fool. Of course he wouldn't want anything else to do with him. Flushing miserably, he started to stand to retreat to where the others studiously avoided looking at them when Lelouch squeezed his hand. Firelight flickered, reflected in wet eyes when he looked back down at the prince. Wordlessly, he sat back down. Feeling bold, he wrapped an arm around him, lips curling into a pleased smile when Lelouch settled against his side.

"…too," Lelouch murmured, turning his burning face into Suzaku's shoulder.

"What was that?" Suzaku asked. Lelouch glared at him weakly. "What? I couldn't hear you; you mumbled."

"I'm not repeating it," Lelouch growled. "I'm still mad at you."

His head went dizzy, heart beating hard. Bending to touch his lips to the shell of Lelouch's ear, he whispered, "I love you, too." Lelouch bit his lip against a grin trying for form, unable to hold it back. Suzaku traced the back of his fingertips along his jaw and kissed his forehead tenderly. Curling fingers at the nape of Suzaku's neck, Lelouch tugged him down into a proper kiss, to the zealous hoots of the pirates.

"I'm so sorry," Suzaku gasped against his mouth as Lelouch pressed kisses to his upper lip. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Me too," Lelouch panted, sliding the tip of his tongue into the corner of Suzaku's lips. "I missed you so much."

"I was an idiot," Suzaku continued, lips falling open to greet his before smearing up the length of Lelouch's jaw to mouth an earlobe. Lelouch groaned, arching into his embrace.

"Yeah," Lelouch agreed breathlessly, laughing. "You were." Suzaku spluttered into exhilarated laughter, collapsing to press his forehead in the crook of Lelouch's neck. Lelouch nuzzled his hair, curling around him as they laughed together.

Beneath his shirt, Lelouch's skin felt hot under Suzaku's hand, and perfectly smooth. The boy squirmed in his grasp to pull away. "I'm not drunk enough yet," Lelouch panted, holding him back with a hand. Biting his lip, Suzaku forced himself away. His eyes drifted to Lelouch's kiss-swollen lips and he flushed, tracing the tip of his tongue over his own plush lower lip. Lelouch watched him, biting his own lip. He slugged back his drink, smiling shyly as he reached for Suzaku.

Suzaku held him back, then, taking the cup from him to place it on the ground. "Don't go so fast," he murmured, stealing a boozy kiss. "I want to enjoy you." Lelouch blinked at him, then nodded warmly. He took Suzaku's hands in his own, guiding him. "Wait, where are we going?" Suzaku asked, confused.

Lelouch was silent as he dragged his sailor away from the fire, ignoring the suggestive snickering of the few pirates sober enough to notice their departure. Even Gino, Rolo, and Rivalz had joined the festive mood, Rolo enthusiastically reenacting some sword fight with Rivalz' assistance to an amused audience of Gino and Kallen; Captain Asplund and his Pirate Queen were having a drinking contest, and Suzaku figured that _that_ event could only end one of three ways: they would drink each other into a coma, there would be a violent brawl, or Asplund would finally end up taking Rakshata up on the promising glances she'd been throwing him all evening. He was still laughing to himself when Lelouch tugged him into the welcoming darkness of a low hut.

Hot lips descended over his as his eyes struggled to adjust to the pitch black room. Lelouch's thin hands guided and shoved him until he found himself falling flat against a bed that rustled and creaked as his weight fell against it. The prince clambered onto his thighs and settled there, mouthing a trail of kisses up the side of his face. Suzaku flailed blindly in the dark, hand finally discovering the plane of an abdomen and fingers fluttering up to cup a sharp pinbone. Lelouch sighed against him pleasantly.

"Not--" Suzaku broke off, groaning as Lelouch pulled him by the hair into a lingering kiss. "Mmm," he hummed, before remembering himself. "Not that I don't--ah!--appreciate what you're trying to do here, but--"

He could almost _see_ Lelouch's wicked grin as he rocked on his lap. Stilling the boy with hands on his hips, Suzaku whined low in his throat and coughed, embarrassed by his eagerness. "What was that?" Lelouch asked, tilting his hips to grind against him. Suzaku's mouth felt stuffed with cotton.

"I'm not complaining," he finally managed through lips barely parted for breath, "but I thought you wanted to go slow?"

"Slow isn't the same thing as 'stop'," Lelouch said, and this time Suzaku was sure he _could _see the grin, perfect and potent with promise. He fumbled up the length of the prince's arms, fingers cupping the back of his head gently as he rolled them along the narrow, green-smelling bed until Lelouch was beneath him, held in place by the grip of Suzaku's hands on his hair and hip and the fluttery glide of Suzaku's lips against his own and the burning press of Suzaku's hard cock aligned with his own. Lelouch whimpered, hips jerking against Suzaku's body as the sailor slowly slid down the length of him.

Suzaku pushed the loose shirt up Lelouch's belly, tasting the rum and the sweat and the sweetly musky taste of Lelouch's skin itself. He smiled against the quivering muscles underneath his head and wrapped a hand around the bulge that had formed between Lelouch's thighs. The prince keened, knees rising from the bed for leverage as he shuddered in that grip.

"You want me to--?" Suzaku teased, squeezing Lelouch as he breathed against his twitching stomach. Tremors raced along the prince's skin like fire, and Suzaku surged forward to catch him in a kiss. Lelouch's breath hitched in his throat, chest jerking as Suzaku bit along the side of his jaw to his ear, one hand slipping beneath the waist of his pants to fondle him. The sailor's hand moved slowly--so, so slowly--along his length, thumb stroking a spiral from the sweat-damp curls at the base to cover the frenulum with a firm touch. With his other hand, he tugged Lelouch's pants out of the way and down his legs to bare him to the warm, humid air within the hut. Lelouch shivered as he was exposed, suddenly realizing that, even in the dark, this was the closest to naked Suzaku had ever seen him. The fabric of his shirt was cloying and he wriggled, shrugging out of it to throw the cotton across the room.

Suzaku made love like an explorer, hands and tongue and lips and teeth seeking out the secrets of this new land. Weather-worn lips against his collarbone made Lelouch shiver as his sailor kissed every part he could reach, drifting east and west to nose against his armpits, then north and south from sternum to navel. His hands were hot and pleasantly huge as the cupped him, lifting his hips for further study. Lelouch moaned helplessly as Suzaku buried his face between his legs, sucking love bites along the sensitive skin of an upper thigh. He tasted his way to a kneecap before hurrying back to where they both really wanted him to be; lips pressed damp against the crease of his leg as Suzaku nuzzled intimately into his secrets.

They'd never done this like this before. Every inch of Lelouch felt like he would shake apart as Suzaku slowly dismantled him. Coy, lapping licks circled the base before drifting upward along the vein to the tip. A questing tongue slid easily around the tip, already slicked with precome and shivering with arousal. Lelouch pressed desperately at the back of his head and Suzaku sank, sucking hard at the flushed flesh between his lips. It went damnably quickly after that.

Head bobbing in Lelouch's lap, Suzaku savored everything about the act--but especially the knowledge that it was Lelouch there beneath him, unable to control the thrust of his hips and the crush of his aroused body to Suzaku's face. It was Lelouch's scent that filled his nose and Lelouch's thin, desperate fingers that held him in place while his hips struggled to lift from the bed and fill his mouth. It was Lelouch's taste that overwhelmed his senses, leaving him rock-hard and shuddering against the bed, and it was Lelouch's whimpering pleas as the body beneath him began to jerk, abdomen clenching and unclenching as everything tensed further and further, fingers knotting in his hair painfully as salty seed splashed scalding across the back of his throat. Suzaku pressed the heel of a hand against himself and he was following where Lelouch would lead, tongue stroking oversensitive flesh until Lelouch's almost kittenish whines of complaint were joined with the pressure of both hands pushing his head away.

Damp and sticky and elated, Suzaku crawled to the top of the bed he couldn't see, fumbling to steal a languid kiss. Still shivering in the aftershocks, Lelouch curled beneath his chin, face pressed against his collar. Suzaku was surprised to feel wetness seeping through the fabric. He sat up, cupping a cheek with his hand.

"Lelouch? What's wrong?"

The prince sighed, kissing at the palm of the hand. Pausing, he nuzzled into it, and Suzaku realized with a flush of lust that it was the one he'd come into. "Nothing's wrong," Lelouch murmured, fingers coming up to wrap around Suzaku's. "I just…."

Suzaku frowned, grimacing at the coolness of his wet pants, and kicked them down and off. The tropical air was already cooling, and he searched the bed blindly until he found a blanket, wrapping it around them like a cocoon. "What is it?" he whispered, kissing along the ridge of Lelouch's brow.

"Don't leave," Lelouch pleaded sleepily. Suzaku's heart jumped.

Curling an arm around the boy to hold him to his chest, he nodded against the side of his face. "I won't. I won't leave you."

Lelouch yawned, fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt. "Good," he said decisively. Suzaku held him until his breath evened out and they were both asleep.

---

_Chapter Notes: Since there was a question on it: at this point in the fic, Rakshata has invited Kallen's sailors to occupy her island compound with her own crew. This would explain why Lelouch even _has_ a room to take Suzaku to! Also, as a weird note, since I don't know that many fanficcers use the term: the frenulum is a tiny triangle of skin connecting the foreskin to the head of the penis. It's regarded as pretty much the most sensitive place on the whole male body!_


	16. Where He Belongs

_Author's Note: All moved in now! Whew, it was exhausting. But now I can focus on updating during my free time, yay!_

_This fic is quite near 35,000 words, which makes it the longest fic I've ever written that wasn't for a challenge, haha. I can't help it; I love working on this one and seeing where it's going to go. I can only hope that my readers agree!_

_As always, a million thanks to my readers and reviewers, and hopefully the e-mail update system won't be down when this one goes out, yeah?_

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**Go No More A-roving: Where He Belongs  
**

Sunlight filtered into the small room through a gap beneath the roof. It illuminated the boys on the bed, Suzaku sleeping soundly and Lelouch tentatively toying with his curls. The heat of the day was already rising even as the morning sounds of the compound began to filter in. Lelouch reluctantly braced himself against the bed to crawl over his sleeping companion. He swung a leg over, but was stopped by a hand on his bare hip. He blushed, looking down at sleep-hazy green eyes sharpening with lust.

"I think I could stand being woken up with you on top of me," Suzaku murmured, grinning suggestively. Lelouch's lips quirked and he blanketed Suzaku's body with his own to kiss him good morning, signs of life stirring where he was pressed against Suzaku's stomach. Suzaku's own body roused in turn as he slipped a hand between them to gauge the waiting hardness.

"Could you?" Lelouch teased, rocking his hips against Suzaku, shifting back until the sailor's cock was snugly fitted against his ass. Beneath the cotton of Suzaku's shirt, his skin already glistened with a faint sheen of sweat. Lelouch dipped his head to taste a gleaming collarbone, nosing the shirt's collar out of the way.

Groaning, Suzaku moved to flip them over, but Lelouch shifted away. "Wha--?" Suzaku asked, confused. Lelouch thrust against his hip and smirked.

"I want to do it this way for once," he informed Suzaku, arching his back to drop a hand behind him. Precome smeared sticky along his inner wrist as he grasped Suzaku, positioning himself. "Is this okay?" he asked, eyes hooded as he sank back. Suzaku nodded enthusiastically, hands coming up to wrap around Lelouch's hips. The prince laughed breathlessly, squirming until he was seated firmly. Suzaku thrust up experimentally, unable to bite back a whine as Lelouch tightened around him.

Reaching down with shaking arms, Lelouch braced himself against Suzaku's chest. Rocking forward on his knees, he lifted his hips before rolling downward again, shuddering. "It's so deep," he marveled in a hushed tone.

Suzaku bucked beneath him at that. Lelouch constricted further, fingers curling into fists as he quaked. His erection bobbed between his raised thighs, dripping precome to puddle pearls across Suzaku's skin. Arousal shivered up his spine as he curled above Suzaku, legs shaking as he lifted himself again to slide smoothly down in one carefully controlled thrust. Suzaku's hip rushed up to meet him, driving a startled cry from his lips. The sailor's grip on his hips tightened and they rocked together again, then again, then again, gaining speed until Lelouch was panting from exertion and sweat dripped from the ends of his hair. When Suzaku wrapped a hand around his cock, Lelouch wailed wordlessly, limbs going limp and uncooperative.

Holding a hand to the small of the prince's back, Suzaku lifted them until he was seated, gingerly pulling a protesting Lelouch off to position himself behind him. He splayed his legs, coaxing Lelouch to kneel above his thighs. "Sit back," he instructed, holding himself still as Lelouch gave him a heavy look and sank back. "God, if you could see this," Suzaku whispered into his ear, rubbing a thumb across the connection between them. "It's amazing. You're so red down here."

Lelouch shivered, eyes dropping closed and spine curling as a hand wrapped around him, pumping steadily. His chest heaved for breath and stars exploded behind his closed lids when Suzaku started moving faster, cock bumping something that made him whimper and rock back expectantly. "Just…," Lelouch barely breathed. "Just a little--" Suzaku squeezed his hand and Lelouch's spine snapped taut, come spattering the blanket between his knees. Suzaku's gasping breaths ruffled the hair at the nape of his neck, the only thing he could register around the blinding rush of pleasure. The sailor's name fell from his lips over and over as Suzaku continued thrusting, quicker and harder now, driving sensation tingling up his spine to explode behind his eyes. Suzaku jerked hard and a stinging sensation barely registered on his shoulder as he was filled. Even as they fell to their sides, Suzaku's hips twitched, driving his over stimulated cock into the blankets rhythmically.

"Stop," Lelouch pleaded, reaching back to fist Suzaku's shirt desperately. "It's too much!" They shuddered together as Suzaku calmed himself, still fitted together as their hearts slowed.

"Mmm," Suzaku hummed in satisfaction, wrapping an arm around Lelouch's waist. He nuzzled into the crook of his shoulder, then drew back. "Oh!" he said in surprise. "You're bleeding."

Fingers flitted up to brush the already bruising mark along the graceful curve of Lelouch's throat. "You bit me!" the prince squawked, slapping at Suzaku's thigh.

Laughing, Suzaku nipped at the lobe of Lelouch's ear. "I couldn't help it," he murmured, punctuating the statement with a roll of his hips. Lelouch moaned, shifting away. "You're delicious."

"How am I going to explain it?" Lelouch groused playfully, lips curling into a bemused smile. Suzaku chuckled, curling around the prince.

"It's no one's business," he said, sleepiness creeping back in. "Stay still. I don't like moving pillows."

"You're a _cuddler_," Lelouch accused fondly, squirming in Suzaku's grasp. "I didn't know you were a cuddler."

"It's amazing how different it is when there's time and space to do it right," Suzaku said agreeably.

Lelouch sighed. "I suppose we can take a short nap," he said, already leaning back against him. He was surprised by how easily heavy lids fell over his eyes, and he was asleep almost instantly.

They were woken by a knock on the door, Lelouch barely coherent enough to throw the blanket back over their prone forms before it swung open, revealing Kallen and Lloyd. He blushed furiously at the knowing expression on her face and the befuddled one on his. Lelouch coughed awkwardly. "Is there something we can help you with?" he asked, tucking the blanket a bit more securely around his chest. He remembered the mad captain from state dinners as a child; he wasn't interested in the man's memory of him being his bits on display.

Kallen raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Your presence is required at the morning meeting. Seeing as," she added, waving expansively to both Lloyd and Suzaku, "we're discussing our _guests_."

Lelouch flushed deeper, jaw jutting defiantly. "Of course. We'll be there; please permit us a few moments to…."

"To clean up?" she suggested, grinning wolfishly. "You should air out the room, too. It smells like a Turkish bathhouse in here."

Thoroughly embarrassed, Lelouch covered their heads with the blanket and shooed them with a hand. He could hear her laughter through the door.

Crossing the lagoon, Lelouch blushed to see people stop to watch them pass. His fingertips drifted nervously to the bite mark, still visible on his neck, and he elbowed Suzaku roughly. "Vampire," he hissed, cheeks brilliant as the pirates snickered. Suzaku laughed lowly, wrapping his arms around him.

Morning meeting--though it was nearly noon, judging by the sun's position--was held in the largest building in the compound, Rakshata's workshop. Thuds and crashes could be heard outside, and the air was filled with enthusiastic swearing. Glancing nervously at each other, they entered into chaos.

Lloyd held one of Rakshata's latest creations over his head, examining it in the light that poured in through the eastern exposure. "This is…!" he was saying, turning it over in his hands as if it were a precious artifact.

"Don't break it!" she warned. "Give it back to me! It's just a prototype; it's not done yet!"

"How does it work?" he asked, ignoring her. She glared at him, and a sudden light dawned over her face slowly. Slinking next to him, she placed a hand on his arm and smiled. He blinked at her nervously.

"You like it?" she purred seductively.

He gulped, turning on his heel. "It--it's okay," he denied, tossing it back to her. She crowed in triumph and placed the item back on the workbench just in time to see him lift another from another table. She swore.

"It's been going on like this all morning," Kallen confided in them as they watched the two go round again. "It's the most damnably confusing form of flirting I've ever seen."

"Speaking of flirting!" Rakshata said suddenly, stopping to look at them. Lelouch twitched. Suddenly businesslike, she moved to the front of the room, beckoning Lelouch and Suzaku to stand beside Lloyd. "I have a question for you," she told them, frowning.

"How stupid do you think I am?" she asked. Lelouch swallowed against the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat.

"Do you want me to answer that?" Lloyd asked cheerfully. Rakshata ignored him, focusing on Lelouch.

Lelouch swore softly, looking away. Kallen's pirates looked confused, and Gino looked like someone had smacked him. He looked back at Rakshata's calculating eyes and sighed. "Not half as stupid as I'd hoped," he admitted.

She sighed, lifting her pipe to puff contemplatively. He bit his lip as he waited. She turned to Suzaku. "He's still yours," she said finally. "I've given him to you, and I won't go against my word." Eyeing him shrewdly, she continued, "Which means that you're the one they'll be paying for, then."

Lelouch started, a protest forming on his lips. Beside him, Suzaku spoke up. "He doesn't want to go back."

Rakshata shrugged. "It's up to you, I suppose. He's yours, I can't do anything about that. But," she paused to tap ashes from her pipe with deceptive coolness, "You belong to me. I intend to collect, even if it's only on his lover."

"You can't!" Lelouch cried, aghast. "My father'll kill him!"

Rakshata shrugged again, crossing her arms. "They'll interrogate him, but yes. They'll probably hang him." She winked at Suzaku almost playfully. "You like 'em pretty, but you've got expensive tastes, don't you?"

"What's going on here?" Kallen demanded.

Rakshata ignored her. "I'm sure he was worth it, though. That slender waist, those hips and that feisty attitude? I'm sure he's a wildcat in bed."

"Watch your mouth," Gino said sharply before Lelouch could even form an angry retort. Rakshata smiled sharply, stalking over to the blond sailor.

"Oh, _yes_, my lord," she snickered, patting him on the shoulder. He jerked away from her touch. "I'm sure you'll fetch a nice enough price, even if I can't cash in on the big ticket there. I may yet fetch a princely sum from our regent pretender."

Lelouch closed his eyes, swaying. Beside him, he could feel Suzaku shift protectively. "Rakshata, leave him alone," he commanded, turning to look at the motley crew before him. Pirates--Kallen's boys, who he'd gotten to know in his short time as their quartermaster; hard-working boys whose sense of humor was only matched by their good-natured loyalty to their captain--and sailors of the Royal Navy--his friends: Rolo, who'd helped him endlessly both aboard the ship and off; Rivalz, cheerful and friendly and wholly innocent in the matter; Gino, whose quick thought had kept him safe this far. Captain Lloyd Asplund of the _Adventure_, a brilliant strategist who could've funded a new ship to experiment on with the reward for bringing him in. Suzaku. All of the people who'd be hurt if he played this selfishly.

"I'll go." With all eyes on him, he repeated himself: "In exchange for the release of all of these sailors, these men of my father's navy, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, grant you my ransom and relinquish myself to your possession to do with as you see fit."

---

_Chapter Notes: Not too much to note here. Title is from "Fire Marengo". A Turkish bathhouse is a paid communal bath that has kind of the same reputation as the YMCA, wink wink. Part of the process of using a Turkish bath is for a young male attendant to give the customer a massage to relax them while bathing, so basically Kallen's just saying, "It smells like you guys just got laid."_


	17. A Health to the Company

_Author's Note: Another chapter that took forever to write! I've been very distracted lately, sorry. _

_Millions of thanks to the readers and reviewers! We're nearing the home stretch, so please stick with me, and I hope you enjoy!_

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**Go No More A-roving: A Health to the Company**

No one had ever told him that being ransomed was a game of waiting. And dice. Lots of dice.

"Five," Rolo said cheerfully, dragging the pile of coins to himself. His pockets were already bulging, and Rivalz looked ready to cry. Lelouch eyed the boy with interest; there was no chance he wasn't cheating, but he'd be damned if he could figure out how.

"All right, that's enough of that. Poor Rivalz," Suzaku said, patting the sailor on the shoulder. Rivalz looked up at him with an expression akin to a kicked puppy, and Gino laughed. "Now for the subject of the honor guard--"

"No honor guard," Lelouch interrupted firmly.

"--we know it can't be Gino, since the pirates are planning to use him to score their own ransom, but Rivalz is a fair enough fighter, and Rolo's got some kind of perception-altering skills, judging by how many times he's just so happened to come up with just the right dice--" Suzaku continued blithely.

"No honor guard," Lelouch repeated, frowning. "I mean it. No honor guard."

"--and there's no question that I'll be there--"

"You will not!" Lelouch denied, and Suzaku turned to him with an indulgent smile. "You're going to be so not there you won't even know what there _looks_ like!"

Suzaku raised an eyebrow at the prince's flustered denial. "Like hell I'll send you back there without staying with you to make sure you're safe!"

Lelouch bristled. "You're not sending me anywhere. I'm going back to my father to tell him to call off this ridiculous search, and you're going back to your position on the _Adventure_, and it'll be like I was never there at all."

Suzaku gawped at him. "Like you were--" He turned to the other sailors, who were suddenly occupied with looking elsewhere. Growling, he turned back to the prince. "I don't want it to be like you were never there! If you think you can just go back to Pendragon and forget all about me, you--" he slumped, dejected. "--well, you can if you want to, but I can't. I don't want to leave you. I wanted to be with you longer."

"Longer?" Lelouch asked, eyes going soft.

"A lot longer," Suzaku confirmed. He darted in, stealing a kiss. "A lot, lot longer."

"Gag me," Rolo chimed in, cries muffled as Gino covered his mouth. Lelouch glanced at them and Gino beamed back, hand still across the boy's face. Rivalz was grinning, too.

"It's okay with me," the blue-haired sailor said cheerfully. "I think you guys are cute together, even if his father _will_ kill you for sullying his son, Suzaku." Lelouch winced, looking away.

"I've only got two hands," Gino lamented, looking down at Rolo mournfully. "Will you be good so I can stop him from saying stupid things?" Rolo rolled his eyes, working his jaw when Gino released him.

"You have to admit the likelihood," Rolo said contemplatively. "You put your hands--quite vocally, I may add--on the son of the Emperor. The chances that you're not going to be killed for it are pretty slim."

Lelouch sighed morosely, studiously watching fish in the cove to hide the sting of tears. Suzaku's work-rough hand covered his own and he looked up to the sailor's shy smile. "For me," Suzaku said softly, "it was worth it."

"Aww," Rivlaz cooed. Rolo opened his mouth to speak, but at Gino's threatening gesture dropped off, muttering darkly. Kallen's laughter broke into the scene, and Suzaku whirled to face her, moving protectively in front of Lelouch. Lelouch rolled his eyes and shifted over, inviting her into their group.

"Is this what it's like to be a sailor of the Royal Navy?" she asked, fitting herself between Lelouch and Gino. "All gossip and talking about boys? You'll forgive me if I admit I'd expected different."

"Some of us talk about girls," Gino assured her slyly, a pretty blush rising on her cheeks at his playful expression.

"Like Gino's girlfriend!" Rivalz offered. Kallen frowned, and Gino sighed.

"You don't read social situations well," Rolo informed the sailor, who frowned. "It's why you didn't know he was the prince until he told you, 'Rivalz, I am the prince.'"

Kallen's frown deepened and Lelouch threw them both an irritated look. "I _am_ sorry I had to lie to you, you know," Lelouch apologized to her. "You'd have sent me back if you'd known."

"I'd have been filthy, disgusting rich right now if I'd known," she agreed, shrugging. "You don't want to go back."

"No," he agreed. Suzaku squeezed his hand comfortingly, and she looked at them shrewdly.

"Is he the reason?" she asked.

Lelouch shook his head, then nodded and shook his head again. "Part of it, certainly. I'll never see him again if I go back. But I wouldn't want to go back anyway."

Kallen sighed, thoughtful. "Then we'll have to find a way to get you out of it, won't we?"

The sailors stared at her, and she laughed. "I named my ship 'Equality', but it was a very near thing. That ship means freedom to me and my crew; if you think I'd sell one of my men into a deal he didn't want to accept, you've got a low opinion of me, indeed." She turned to Lelouch, smile wry. "You're one of my men, of course. Temporarily, may be, but one of us nonetheless. 'Equality' works both ways: a prince is worth no more than a sailor, but he's worth no less, either," she said, reminding him of his words aboard the ship. He smiled at her. "Of course," she added, "you'll be the one coming up with the plan, and it had better not fail. I've got a lot of men riding on your freedom." Lelouch nodded solemnly, mind already working.

That night after dinner, Lelouch lay next to Suzaku, mind still whirling. A plan was beginning to form; during dinner, Rakshata had announced that there would be a rendezvous in two days' time to make the trade: one reluctant prince in exchange for a ransom capable of making a man rich for the rest of several lifetimes. Not for the first time, Lelouch had bemoaned the sum, irritated by how much easier it would have been if the sum were a paltry five hundred pounds to the truly daunting two thousand.

Suzaku frowned, shuffling closer. "You're fretting. Don't worry. It'll work out."

Lelouch nodded absently against his chest, grateful for Suzaku's presence. "Who do you think the envoy will be?" he asked.

Suzaku shrugged. "Clovis, perhaps. He was rather insistent that you were alive, after all. Bringing you back would only be vindication against Cornelia. She seemed pretty sure you _weren't_ alive." Lelouch hummed and Suzaku grinned, bumping his nose against Lelouch's forehead. "Did you really hold up your brother's ship?"

The smirk that spread across Lelouch's face then was positively sinful. "He shouldn't have been touring deep waters without an escort," he gloated, stretching luxuriously on the bed. "He was even flying Britannian colors. He might as well have hung a pennant from his tail that read 'Please come rob me; I have a lot of nice things.'"

Suzaku snickered. "Oh, my little pirate! What did he have? He seemed sore to lose it."

"Wine." Lelouch licked his lips. "Lots of it, and very good stuff at that. We enjoyed it thoroughly before selling off a case or two at port."

"Mmm," Suzaku purred, nuzzling against him. "That _would_ be upsetting to him."

"Indeed," Lelouch agreed smugly. "He probably cried." They both fell silent, uneasy. Lelouch spoke up first. "Nun--you said you saw my sister?" he asked, voice strained with the effort to stay cool.

Suzaku nodded. "Nunnally misses you, too."

"How is she--?" Lelouch started, voice cracking.

"She's beautiful, Lelouch. Calm and sweet, and very smart. Smarter than me," Suzaku hummed quietly.

Lelouch laughed, a broken little sound. "It doesn't take much for that. Of course she's smart; she's my little sister."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Suzaku asked, smoothing Lelouch's hair gently.

The breath gusted from Lelouch's lungs in a rush as he really thought about it. "Almost seven years ago," he admitted. "She was so little; I couldn't take her with me. I hated myself for leaving her behind, but she was so little. Six years old, legs twisted and eyes blind…I couldn't care for her when I didn't know how I'd care for myself, but I hated myself for leaving her behind."

"I'm sure she understands," Suzaku murmured, and Lelouch shook his head. "I'm sure of it," he told the prince certainly. Lelouch sagged against him, lashes spiky with tears.

"She's the one person in this whole world I love the best," Lelouch admitted, turning to face Suzaku with a small frown. "You do understand that? I love her best in the whole world--even more than you, and I'm stupidly fond of you."

Suzaku chuckled at that, stroking Lelouch's head again. "I'm passing fond of you, too, my lord."

Lelouch lay against his chest, breath deepening and slowing as he listened to Suzaku's heart rate. "What," he began reluctantly, "will happen with us now? Now that you know."

Suzaku stilled in thought. "It makes no difference to me," he responded, "whether you're a prince or a king or a beggar or a whore." Lelouch flinched, and Suzaku stroked his head again. "You're my Lelouch, and you're stuck with me. Every day in court, I'll wait in line for the chance to kneel at your feet, if that's the only way to see you."

Lelouch swallowed hard against emotions rising in his throat. "Let's just run away," he whispered fiercely. "Just the two of us, and let's not tell anyone where we are. We can find some island kingdom of our very own, where nothing matters but this moment right now." His face was solemn and eager, and Suzaku pulled him up, kissing damp eyelids.

"You'd regret it," he said simply. Lelouch made a disagreeing sound, trying to draw back as Suzaku pressed their foreheads together. "You would. You'd miss your sister, your friends. We'd quarrel and you'd have to find wild sea turtles to run away with."

Lelouch laughed, settling against him sleepily. "But then how would I get back to you when I wasn't mad anymore?"

"You'd find a way," Suzaku said finally, and Lelouch nodded. "It's why I'm not worried right now; we'll find a way."

"Always," Lelouch whispered fervently, eyes falling closed. Suzaku repeated it faintly and he smiled, lips curling in his sleep.

---

_Chapter Notes: No real notes this update! Title is from the song of the same name._


	18. Yea Ho, Little Fishes

_Author's Note: Ah, this chapter! I fought with myself desperately about the direction this fic would go, and this chapter was the pivotal point. I swear, I've probably got five different versions of this chapter: versions where Rakshata lets them go, versions where Kallen and her men help them escape, versions where they overwhelm the boarding party and are caught and dragged back to the castle. In the end, I finally figured out which direction I wanted to go; from here on out, it should be much smoother sailing._

_I very deeply apologize for taking so long with this chapter! It definitely killed me to want so much to give you guys a new chapter but be unable to deliver. I can only hope that the wait was worth it, and that you're willing to trust me and ride it out to the end with me!_

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**Go No More A-Rovin': Yea Ho, Little Fishes**

"--and when I give the signal, Rolo, you'll--" Lelouch was saying as they knelt by the rail. He'd worked on the plan for hours, but this was the best he could come up with. He glanced up at one of Rakshata's pirates where the man was inching discretely closer to their conversation. "--never see a port as beautiful as Hispaniola's Port-au-Prince. It's truly stunning," he finished lamely. The pirate cocked his head in recognition of the redirection and settled just within listening range. Lelouch swore virulently under his breath and the pirate smirked.

"Don't you have anything better to be doing right now?" Lelouch asked him, and the pirate laughed.

"Not really, no. We've heard about you: sneaky and slippery and too smooth for anyone's good, much less your own," the pirate said. "I'm here to keep an eye on you."

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me," Lelouch retorted, rolling his eyes.

"So I've decided what we're going to do with Suzaku," Gino said.

"I'm staying with Lelouch, of course," Suzaku told him.

Gino hesitated, biting his lip. "Suzaku…."

"Because it doesn't really matter what else you've decided if it isn't that," Suzaku told him bluntly.

"Just hear me out," Gino told him, and Suzaku shook his head, standing.

"There's nothing to hear. You guys keep talking like there's a chance that I'm not sticking by him. I am. I can't even--" choking, he shook his head, "I can't not. It's not an option."

"Suzaku," Lelouch said, eyes going soft.

"You two really are just ridiculously mushy, aren't you?" Rolo laughed.

"Your escort is here," the pirate interrupted, pointing to the bulky shape of a brigantine approaching. The Britannian flag was a banner behind the ship, marking it prominently as important. It would have been picturesque, the way the sunlight reflected from the waves lit the figurehead from below, were it not almost monstrously ostentatious. The ship looked obscene amidst the serene seas. Ominous.

"He could have been a little more obvious," Lelouch sneered, leaning over the rail to observe the ship's polished teak and gleaming gold accents. "Perhaps he didn't have time to hang the sign that says 'This is the Emperor's personal ship'?"

Gino frowned. "But it's not," he said, and Suzaku nodded, biting his lip. "It's--"

"Time for all good little hostages to go below deck!" Rakshata sang, and the sailors were drawn, protesting, below decks. Lelouch was drawn and white as they listened to the boarding party's footsteps. Voices were too muffled to make anything out.

"There's an awful lot of them," Rolo said, voice hushed. They listened as the sound of heavy boots met and mingled with the almost delicate taps of the pirate queen's heels. Even counting as many pirates as they could remember seeing on deck, there were a formidable few new feet.

"At least ten," Gino agreed.

"More," Rivalz murmured, face worried in the light filtering in through the boards above. "A dozen, at least." Sobered, the group sat silently. Lelouch's mind was racing.

"It's not going to work," he said urgently. "My plan. I didn't account for--"

"But Kallen's men?" Suzaku suggested.

Lelouch shook his head. "It would be a close thing. I couldn't ask anyone to fight when we all could die." Disappointed, he slumped against Suzaku's arm.

"Well, then, what about my men?" Earl Asplund broke the silence.

"What about them?" Lelouch asked, piqued. He peered through the gloom to see the _Adventure_'s expedition crew nodding. "You can't be serious," he denied. "You were after the bounty, yourselves."

Asplund shrugged. "Anything that sticks it to that woman even just a little bit, is good to me. I can just write home for another draft."

"You'd…just to goad Rakshata?" Lelouch asked, jaw dropping. His lips twitched at Asplund's answering grin. "Alright then. If you want to help, we should have enough men."

He was still explaining the plan in hushed tones when the hatch opened again. "Come out now," Rakshata called. Her voice was strange, strained.

"Something's not right," Asplund said quietly, and Lelouch nodded.

"I didn't say--" Rakshata paused, voice breaking off abruptly. "--cackle like a barnyard full of hens," she continued. "You know what I want you to do, _Lloyd_!"

Asplund froze, tipping his chin to the stairs. "Yes, of course, Madam. Please forgive my tardiness," he responded. "I wasn't aware that I was being ransomed, too."

"You're not!" she called back, and he frowned. "His Highness would like a word."

"Someone knew I would be here?" Asplund asked, and Lelouch tilted his head.

"Of course! You registered your search with the Emperor, you stupid man!" she replied sharply.

Asplund frowned deeply. "We'll be right up. One of my men has twisted his ankle," he called, tone cheerful despite a look of growing concern creeping across his face.

"What's wrong?" Lelouch hissed. "Of course the Emperor knows you're here looking for me. Suzaku told me about your visit to the castle."

"Lieutenant Kururugi doesn't know anything about that visit. He disappeared before we got to the throne room; I quarreled with the Emperor! I told him I wasn't going to bother looking for you, because you were doing a fine job looking after yourself," Asplund said.

Suzaku's eyes widened. "But we came all this way!"

"To find the pirate queen!" Asplund confessed, cheeks pinking. "I didn't care two jots where the missing prince was!"

"Thank you!" Lelouch cried. "Why do so many people care?"

"Shut up, your Highness!" Rolo said. "No offense intended," he added, coughing.

"You can't go up there," Gino said. "Something's wrong with this situation. Who knew you were coming?"

"Who knew you had _arrived_?" Lelouch corrected, frowning in thought.

"Lloyd!" Rakshata's voice was very shrill. "I would very much like it if you would get up here _right now_!"

"I--" Captain Asplund started, looking from man to man.

"Go, man," Gino told him, and Asplund darted up the stairs. Below deck, they waited with bated breath as the heavy footsteps trod the deck, moving with growing urgency. Voices rose and fell in argument. A whistle, then sudden thumping. Rakshata screeched.

"To me, boys!" Asplund's plea was desperate. "To me!"

They poured from the belly of the ship like ants from a hill into a day bright and already stained with blood. They were Britannian sailors alright, scarlet coats glowing in the Caribbean sun. Rakshata's men were huddled around her, protecting her from assault on three sides as she fought beside them. Kallen's men were likewise engaged, the spitfire pirate captain baring her teeth as she ran a man through. On deck in the midst of his first real naval battle, Lelouch was stunned. All he could think about was how ridiculous the _en garde _position really was.

"Kallen!" Gino cried, a sword somehow already in his hand as he shoved his way through the throng.

"Lelouch," Suzaku said, jerking on the boy's elbow. "_Lelouch_." Lelouch looked at him blankly. "We've got to get you out of here!"

"But Gino--!" Lelouch protested, and Suzaku shook his head.

"Your safety is more important!"

"No, it's not! A prince isn't worth more than a musician, and a musician isn't worth more than a prince!"

"But you're worth more to me!" Suzaku pleaded.

"No, Suzaku, I can't ask men to die for me and be unwilling to fight, myself," Lelouch told him. Gritting his teeth, Suzaku followed him into the fray.

It was a whirl of shining steel and splashes of red blood. Lelouch had never considered that the deck might be slick with blood, that he would hear the screams of the dying and smell the sweat of so many sailors fighting for their lives. He lunged; his blade sank with sickening ease into the crease of the arm of a man wearing a red coat. He had the presence of mind to hope Earl Asplund's men had removed theirs before they were likewise treated. The man's eyes glazed over and he slumped to the deck, still staring vacantly at the sky. Lelouch's gorge rose and he swallowed against the gagging retch caught in his throat. Suzaku grunted and he turned just in time to see a sailor lose his arm. His stomach rebelled.

"Are you okay?" Suzaku asked, shuffling him from the vivid splash of blood and vomit.

Shaking, Lelouch rubbed spittle from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Why would he do this? Father--"

"I must admit I thought Clovis was seeing ghosts," a richly amused voice cut through the chaos of battle. Lelouch spun, squinting into the sunlight at the speaker. "I'm glad to hear I was wrong, even if only for a few more minutes."

Staring up into his older brother's face, Lelouch felt his mind go blank. "Schneizel."

Suzaku looked pained. "Gino tried to tell you. It wasn't the Emperor's ship--it's the First Prince's."

Lelouch looked confused. "First Prince?"

A slow smile grew like sunrise across Prince Schneizel's face. "Never one for gossip, hm? Odysseus," he paused, relishing the moment, filling their silent pocket of uneasy peace with a low chuckle. "He had an _accident_."

"What did you do?" Lelouch asked, aghast.

"Oh, nothing much, really. Nothing unexpected, certainly. You know I've never liked to let others play when I could have all the toys; you were always much the same," Schneizel shrugged.

Horror dawned on Lelouch's face. "I don't want to be the Emperor! I just want to be left alone!"

"And yet," Schneizel said, blithely admiring the sheen of his sword, "as much as I believe you now, I don't believe you ten years from now. I'm not even sure I believe you five--or even one--years from now. Sorry."

Lelouch rolled his eyes. "I assure you--" He hit the deck hard enough for his head to bounce, hard enough not to notice the way Suzaku collapsed on top of him or the warm gush of blood that soaked his legs. He didn't hear the concerned cries, the commotion as Schneizel was tackled and arrested by Earl Asplund's men.

"We've got to move him," Gino's voice was fuzzy around the edges.

"He's hurt." That was Rivalz, his mind eventually supplied.

"They're both hurt. He's crushing him." Rolo was there, too. He was glad they'd all made it through okay. "We can't just leave him there on top of him."

"You can fix him, can't you, Rolo? You're the loblolly boy. You can fix anything." Wetness dropped on his face. Rain? Rivalz was crying?

"We have to get to Pendragon."

Darkness engulfed him.

---

_Chapter Notes: This update's song is a traditional song of much-argued origin. Either way, it's absolutely stunning, and you can listen to it at the link in my profile!_


	19. As Ofttimes Before

_Author's Note: Another update? So soon? I'm so glad to have gotten over that hurdle, haha! I honestly appreciate everyone who's stuck by me and _Roving_, and everyone who's taken the time to read and/or review (is it possible to review without reading? haha). _

_Unfortunately, this chapter is a little bit short, but it really was the best place to leave this chapter in the interests of the next chapter. I was really glad for the chance to bring Nunnally back this chapter; she's such a charming character to write. Expect to see more of Lelouch's siblings in the next update!  
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**Go No More A-Roving: As Ofttimes Before**

He came to in a room he'd never thought he'd see again. Sunlight filtered in through the large picture window, colored faintly by the rose petals pressed against the glass. Pulling himself up onto his elbows, he took in his surroundings. Pale, early morning sunlight illuminated the east-facing room. The rose bushes outside were unkempt. Curled on the divan with her chair next to her, his little sister was sleeping. He wiggled his toes; the bed was shorter than he remembered. The laugh that escaped him was dry and rattling.

"You're awake," Gino said, close to his ear. Lelouch shushed him, gesturing to the princess, and nodded.

"What happened?" he asked. His voice cracked from disuse. Gino frowned. "Tell me," Lelouch insisted.

"You fell," Gino replied reluctantly. "You hit your head really hard. Rakshata made sure you were okay and Rolo stabilized you, but you still couldn't stay awake longer than a few minutes. We thought you might die."

Lelouch reached out an arm, flexing his fingers. "I feel fine. A little bit of a headache, but--weren't we in Cuba?" he asked, confused.

Gino nodded. "I've never seen a ship move that fast. It was pretty amazing! Your father's already commissioned the Earl to create a dozen more just like it. It's a pity Rakshata isn't here to supply her additions; we made it here in just under a week."

"I was unconscious for a week?" Lelouch wondered.

"You woke long enough for us to talk to you, but you never retained any information," Gino explained. "You kept asking the same things over and over again."

"Where's Suzaku?" Lelouch asked.

"Yeah, that's one of them." Gino's laughter sounded forced.

"No, where is he?" Lelouch bit his lip, frowning. Fear gnawed at him; Suzaku had been right next to him. How could Lelouch be hurt with Suzaku so near by, unless…. He couldn't even think the words. "He's okay, right? He's probably just stepped out of the room. He's probably beside himself with worry; he'll be sick that he wasn't here when I woke up," he said, breathless and a little frantic when Gino didn't agree.

"He's doing okay, I promise, Lelouch," Gino said finally. "He's very sick, but I'm sure he wishes he could be here."

"I'm not a child," Lelouch snapped. "You can tell me the truth."

"Brother?" Nunnally sounded very small, struggling to pull herself back into her chair. Gino rushed over to help her, guiding her to the side of the bed so she could clasp Lelouch's hand with both of hers. "It really is you. He promised, and it really is you!"

Lelouch looked up at Nunnally's face, taking in the tear-stained cheeks and long lashes. He reached up, smoothing her hair back from her forehead and smiled, knowing she couldn't see it. "Suzaku always keeps his promises," he told her.

A smile bloomed across her face as she kissed his palm. "I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too," he said, coughing against the sudden lump in his throat. "I can't even say how much."

"It doesn't matter because you're home now," she said blithely, nuzzling into his hand. He froze. "You _are_ home now, Lelouch, and you'll never leave me or Euphie again!" He drew his hand from her, conflicted. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm not staying," he told her. Her chin wobbled, and he clenched his hands in the bed sheets to keep from comforting her. "I won't. I _can't_ stay, Nunnally."

"Why not?" she demanded. "We love you! We want you to stay."

"_You_ love me. _You_ want me to stay," he protested.

"Euphie too! And Clovis and Cornelia and…," she trailed off. He turned his face away, eyes downcast to avoid Gino's curious look.

"I can't stay here, Nunnally," he said finally.

"Then take me with you!" she said.

"No."

Nunnally went still, drawing a deep, shaky breath. "You hate us all so much?" she asked in a small, watery voice. His response was immediate.

He reached up, tugging her down. She fell against his chest with a small squeak, struggling weakly against his grasp. "I don't hate you, Nunnally. You're the most important person in the whole world to me. I could never hate you!"

"Then why do you want to leave me behind again?" she asked, sobbing.

He sighed. "Nobody but you wants me here," he admitted.

Gino coughed. "Well," he continued, ignoring Lelouch's irritated look, "your father offered a significant bounty for your return."

Lelouch snorted. "Because he wanted to keep me under his thumb, and he can't do that unless he has me trapped here."

"The castle's not a cage, Brother," Nunnally objected. "Father lets us do whatever we want."

"--as long as you never leave," Lelouch added. "Tell me, when was the last time you met someone new? It was Suzaku, wasn't it? And before him? Someone new, who wasn't put here to spy on you or make sure you did exactly what he wanted."

"Brother," she protested, and he scoffed.

"You spend your whole life here in a gilded cage, surrounded by no one who actually cares one way or the other about you," he sneered. Nunnally sniffled, tears falling, and he sighed, frustrated. "Nunnally, I…."

"You don't think we actually care for you," she accused. "You'd rather be out there with complete strangers than here with me."

"They're not strangers," he said, shaking his head. "They're my friends. I know you care for me, Nunnally, but I can't stay here. It's too oppressive."

"And you can't take me with you," she confirmed. "Because I'm…," she trailed off, gesturing to her limp and crooked legs.

"I," he started, embarrassed. "I can't take care of you like I'd want to. I can barely take care of myself. Before I met Suzaku…. If I hadn't met him, I'd have died," he confessed.

Nunnally paused, head tilting in question. "Died?"

"I was…. Gino can tell you. I was in a really bad situation, no home, no money--"

"No clothes…," Gino added in _sotto_. Lelouch glared at him.

"What?" Nunnally squealed, scandalized. "You were running around _naked_?"

"Not _naked_," Lelouch denied, flushing. "I just didn't have any clothes on. There's a difference!"

"How?" she giggled.

"I had a bed shirt!" he said sharply.

"And boots, and not much else," Gino said, laughing when Nunnally spluttered into laughter.

"Suzaku saved my life," Lelouch murmured. "Don't lie to me. Where is he?"

Nunnally bit her lip. Terror welled in him and he turned to Gino, eyes pleading. "Surgery," Gino finally confessed. Lelouch's stiff posture started to tremble. "He's in surgery. He lost a lot of blood; they managed to stop the bleeding and get him sewn up, but he still hasn't woken up. He's going to be okay, though," Gino insisted, reaching hesitantly to cover Lelouch's clenched fist. "You woke up, didn't you? It's his turn to stop worrying us now."

"I need to see him." There was no question in his tone.

"He's on the other side of the castle. You can't walk all the way there," Gino said, shaking his head.

"I don't care. Someone can carry me, but I'm going," Lelouch said stubbornly.

"You can borrow my chair," Nunnally offered shyly.

"Nunnally," Lelouch said softly, reaching out to pat her head.

"Go on," she said, playfully ducking away. "He probably misses you, too."

Lelouch paused. "That's right, you met him. What did you think?" he asked nervously.

She giggled. "He likes you very much. He was sad because he'd hurt your feelings. He's very nice."

"He is, isn't he?" Lelouch hummed, leaning over to kiss her forehead as Gino lifted him into the chair.

"He was pretty, too," she added impishly.

Flushing, Lelouch pushed away from the bed. Gino rushed over to grab the handles, making scolding clucks as he pushed the prince toward the door. "We'll be right back, your Highness," he told Nunnally, who laughed again and flopped back on the bed.

The castle was no different than when he'd left, at least the Aries wing. There were faint wheel tracks in the lush runner near Nunnally's door, marking it as hers. There were no footprints leading to their mother's door. He looked away.

Outside the surgery, Gino paused. "I don't want to worry you, but he doesn't look very good. I'm not going to bring you in there if you're going to get upset."

"Then I'll bring myself in there and you can hang," Lelouch said, steely tone hiding concern. Reluctantly, Gino opened the door. Lelouch drew a breath and forgot to let it out.

The piles of blankets nearly obscured the thin bundle huddled on the bed. Normally warm, golden skin was pale and drawn, washed out with a thin trace work of blue veins visible. Splotchy rust-colored blood stained the nails of the unusually still hands folded on his chest. He was bruised unevenly, dark shadows smeared across the skin visible above the blankets.

Lelouch raised a shaking hand to his lips. "My god," he whispered, overwhelmed. Gino touched his shoulder and he cried out, shoving him away to stagger to his feet. "Oh, my god." He managed a few more shambling steps before dizziness overcame him and he sagged into Gino's arms.

"Don't push yourself," Gino said soothingly. Lelouch didn't say anything as he was wheeled over to the side of the bed. His knees bumped the edge and he growled, tugging at the blankets covering his sailor. Gino made a protesting sound as Lelouch pulled them back, stopping as the prince leaned against the bared skin just above the bandages. Lulled by the reassuring steadiness of a heartbeat, Lelouch's eyes drifted closed, fingers curling in the sweat-limp hair at the nape of Suzaku's neck.

---

_Chapter Notes: This update's title is from The Wild Rover._


	20. A Lovely Talk

_Author's Note: Well, we are finally, finally winding down. One more chapter and we'll be through, though perhaps we'll see these characters again in a drabble format or something. At a little over 40,000 words, this will have been the longest fic I've worked on outside of Winterwood, my epic H/D novella (and will have only been a few thousand words less than that one!). It's been ups and downs, but a blast all the way. _

_Anyway, let's save the goodbyes for some other time and get on with the fic! This update's a little bit short again, but I hope it's still fun and rewarding. As always, a million billion thanks to everyone who's read or is reading, and just as many for everyone who's taken the time to review! _

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**Go No More A-Roving: A Lovely Talk**

Euphemia shook him awake. Swirls of pink surrounded him as she leaned over, watching his lashes flutter open. She cheered when he finally smiled at her, frowning when he winced, putting a hand to his head.

"Oops! Sorry," she whispered. "Better?"

"A bit," Lelouch agreed. "Why are you in here?"

"Well, imagine my surprise when I go to my brother's room to see him for the first time in years and I find my sister instead!" Euphie pouted. "Nunnally said you'd be here. She also said you borrowed her chair yesterday and didn't bring it back."

Suddenly awake, Lelouch nervously patted at the chair's handles. He was, indeed, still sitting in his little sister's chair. "Oh, I should--"

"It's okay," Euphie said. "She's getting along fine by calling someone to carry her wherever she needs to go. Usually Clovis; I think he likes carrying her around." She giggled. Her face turned serious as she stroked a hand through Lelouch's hair. "But how are you getting along? You still look exhausted."

Lelouch frowned, turning to look at Suzaku's prone form. He stroked a hand across brown curls, smoothing them away from the sailor's forehead. "I'm fine," he said soberly. Turning back to look at her, he offered her a half smile. "Really."

Euphie smiled, leaning over to repeat the gesture on Lelouch. "He's really important to you, isn't he?" she asked, raking her fingernails along his scalp soothingly. He purred, leaning into her touch. She giggled at his hum of agreement. "He's going to be okay, Lelouch," she told him, still petting his head.

"I don't need to hear that right now, Euphie," he murmured, turning away. "Please."

"What shall we talk about, then? What's he like?" she asked, gesturing toward Suzaku.

"He's a jerk," Lelouch said bluntly, lips quirking at the side. "…but he tries. He's sweet."

"He seemed to be," she agreed.

"Nunnally said he's cute," he said blithely, peering at her from the corner of his eye.

She grinned. "You're looking for approval." Lelouch blushed. "He is," she confessed.

"--kyu."

They froze, turning almost comically to the bed. Suzaku's lashes fluttered, his parched lips parting into a thin smile. "Thank you," he rasped. Euphie cheered, and Lelouch punched his arm. "Ow," Suzaku said.

"It's rude to listen in on a private conversation," Lelouch complained, blushing. Suzaku choked dryly on a laugh and Euphie gave the prince a disapproving look as she lifted a cup of water to Suzaku's lips. Lelouch grasped the cup, shooting her a significant look. She grinned, stepping back.

"I'll just go check on Nunnally," she offered. Pausing in the doorway, she winked saucily. "Now remember, he's still hurt."

Suzaku chuckled at Lelouch's mortified blush. "Which one of us was she talking about?" he asked, reaching up to touch the bruise that still marred the prince's face.

"You, jerk," Lelouch replied softly, running a finger against the bandages that still wrapped Suzaku's torso. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay," Suzaku replied. Lelouch's hand clenched around his, and he smiled. "I really am."

"You must be, since you were dumb enough to jump in front of a blade meant for me," Lelouch told him. Suzaku winced. "After all, only a suicidal idiot would jump in front of a sword thinking that both he and the intended target would die, right?"

"I wasn't thinking about whether or not I would die," Suzaku told him. Lelouch punched his arm again. "Ow!"

"What about me? Don't you think I might care if you died?" Lelouch demanded. "What was I supposed to do if you didn't make it? How was I supposed to," he broke off, voice wavering, "supposed to…."

"I'm sorry," Suzaku said. "I'm sorry."

"I've been so worried," Lelouch cried, fingers clenching into fists. "I've been sick with it."

"I couldn't let anything happen to you. I wasn't even thinking about it; I just couldn't let you get hurt," Suzaku protested. "I saw that dagger and…I don't even know what happened. I just couldn't."

"I don't even care about me; don't you get it?" Lelouch demanded. "I love you, stupid! You think I'd want to know that you died because of me?"

A delicate cough broke through. Euphie stood in the doorway, frozen and awkward. Behind her, the Emperor stood, arms crossed. Lelouch blanched, mouth tightening into a straight line.

"Father," he greeted stiffly.

"Your sister said you were in the garden," Charles said smoothly. "The Weinberg boy said you'd be in the library. This one," he pointed to Euphie, "was loitering in the hallway with her ear against the door." Euphie flushed.

"Here I am," Lelouch said simply.

"Here you are," Charles confirmed. "With your…?" He tipped his head in question.

"With Suzaku," Lelouch ground out. "We'll be leaving as soon as he's well enough to do so."

"Will you?" Charles asked. "I wasn't aware that I was running some sort of home for runaway, deviant children."

"Then let us go and stop this nonsense with the bounty and I promise you'll never have to worry about me again," Lelouch retorted.

"Bounty?" Charles laughed. "You say that as if I'd actually pay anyone to bring trash to my doorstep." Lelouch's jaw flexed.

"Father!" Euphie cried. "You know he's not trash!"

"If I was so worthless, why did you send half the fleet after me? Or is that why you sent Schneizel?" Lelouch demanded.

"Lelouch!" Euphie cut in again, scolding. "Honestly, both of you!"

"Schneizel was acting of his own accord," Charles admitted. "My own scouting vessels haven't even returned yet."

"Why would you even send ships after me? It's not like you ever even wanted me here," Lelouch muttered bitterly.

A burst of laughter from Charles startled him. "How do you manage to be so like her?" the Emperor marveled, smiling almost wistfully. "So willful."

"Don't talk about my mother," Lelouch snapped. Charles frowned. "You replaced her. If she were important to you…if Nunnally and I were important to you…."

"We aren't having this conversation again, Lelouch," Charles growled.

"And I'm not staying here where you can keep me under lock and key and forget about me again," Lelouch protested.

Charles looked taken aback. "I never forgot about you or Nunnally. Who do you think put food in your mouths? Who dressed you and hired expensive tutors, filled your library with books and your playroom with toys?"

"But who talked to us every day? Who tucked Nunnally in at night, and who held my hand when I had nightmares?" Lelouch asked. His cheeks were red with fury. Then, suddenly weak, he put a hand to his head.

"Father," Euphie said softly, touching their father's arm. "He's still sick."

"And what about this boy?" Charles asked, ignoring her.

Lelouch set his jaw stubbornly. "What about him?"

"Who is he, anyway? He looks like a Number," Charles said.

"That doesn't even matter," Lelouch said sharply.

"I am, your Majesty." Suzaku's voice was shy.

"What could ever make you think that you could be with a Britannian boy, much less a prince?" Charles demanded.

"I don't know, maybe because I told him it was okay?" Lelouch snapped. "And if you harm even one hair on his head for it--"

"Are you honorary?" Charles asked Suzaku, waving off Lelouch's tirade.

"I am, your Majesty," Suzaku replied.

Charles groused to himself. "At least you managed to get one thing right," he grumbled. "But a boy?" he asked Lelouch.

Lelouch stopped mid-word, mouth open. "He was kind to me," he said finally, mouth falling closed with a click. "He saved my life, brought me home to his ship and gave me a job and a place to stay when I had neither."

"Did you force yourself on my son?" Charles asked. Suzaku choked.

"Of course not," Lelouch said smoothly. "I was the one who chose to pursue a relationship."

Charles frowned, taking this information in. "What's supposed to happen from here?" he reluctantly asked.

"Well, I thought…," Suzaku started nervously, "I thought we'd go back to the ship. The _Adventure_, I mean. Lelouch would be the cook's boy and I'd be a Lieutenant and it could all go back to the way it was before. Sir."

"Absolutely not," Charles said.

"Why not?" Lelouch demanded.

"Because the First Prince isn't going to be a cabin boy on some ship, doing menial labor and depending on the good graces of his commanding officer to get by," Charles said. Suzaku colored at the implications.

"First Prince?" Lelouch repeated, struck. "I don't want to be the First Prince!"

"Well, Schneizel's clearly unfit--"

"But Cornelia's plenty fit!" Lelouch said desperately. "Let her have it; I know she wants it!"

"Then what do I do with you?" Charles asked.

"Well, your Majesty," came Gino's voice from the doorway. The sailor stepped in with a saucy wink. "I kept _trying_ to tell them I had an idea…."

---

_Chapter Notes: This chapter's title is from Amsterdam Maids, the same song as the title of the whole fic (as well as "Mark Well What I Do Say")! It's a fun song in the grand tradition of sailors' songs warning that pretty girls will leave a man drunk and penniless in a foreign port. You can hear it at a link in my profile._


	21. In Good Company

_Author's Note: And now we're finished with this fic! It's been a pleasure writing it and sharing it with everyone! Thank you to everyone who's read and enjoyed Roving, and I hope it's lived up to the wonderful support you've all given me! I'll update my profile soon with a list of songs and vid links used in the fic!_

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**Go No More A-Roving: In Good Company**

Brilliant sunshine bathed the docks as gulls cawed overhead. Suzaku shaded his eyes against the mirror-bright reflection of the water, grinning up at Lelouch on deck. Gino was helping him lash a line, looping rope around the peg with a simple knot. Lelouch mimicked the twists with confident ease until the sailor laughed, undoing the knot to redo it himself. Suzaku could see Lelouch's pout from the dock.

"Come down and take a break!" he called. They nodded their agreement.

On the dock, Lelouch leaned against Suzaku's side, making faces at Gino. "He's being mean to me," Lelouch told him. Suzaku winked at Gino, who laughed.

"My sincerest apologies, your Highness. Please don't set your boyfriend on me," Gino apologized cheekily. Lelouch pouted. "We're not leaving for a few more hours yet, if there's something else you'd rather be doing." Lelouch bit his lip, glancing at Suzaku.

"You take them with you," Suzaku told him, pointing at the guards waiting at the end of the dock. Lelouch made a moue of irritation. "I'm serious."

"Fine, fine," Lelouch grumbled, trying to ignore the trailing tail of bodyguards he dragged behind him to the carriage. Once inside, he pulled back the curtain in the window, smiling to himself at the sight of his friends, stripped to the waist as they readied the small ship for its first voyage. Impulsively, he threw open the window and leaned out, jerking against the frame as the carriage rocked. He waved enthusiastically, cheeks flushing when the sailors waved back.

Settling back against the seat, he reached beneath his coat for the heavy sack of coins at his waist. Nervousness clawed at him. He could feel the moment the road became rougher, looser and broken cobblestones causing the wheels to bump and jostle him. The curtain fluttered in the window, letting in the stink of this part of the city, but he didn't dare lift it to peer outside. Still, the cold chill as they passed beneath the bridge made him shiver. Counting the seconds until they finally rolled to a stop, he let out a shuddery breath at the gentle knock to the door.

"Your Highness?" his footman hissed beyond the thick fabric. "We've arrived."

"Give me a moment," he asked, carefully smoothing down the front of his vest. He caught himself fluffing his hair distractedly and pulled his hands to his lap, fingers twining nervously. The sack was a comforting weight against his thigh as he considered if it was too late to consider going back and just getting on the ship, leaving for the Caribbean and leaving painful memories aside. No one would fault him, he was sure. No one except himself.

He swung the door open, much to the awed surprise of the street children that had surrounded it while he sat inside. The guards and footman were doing their best to block him from the grubby fingers that reached out to trace the elegant details of his finery, but he smiled.

"Look at him," one of the children said, eyes wide as she dared to reach out and touch the cold metal of his buttons. "He could be a duke or something!"

Another of the boys nodded fervently, stroking the soft satin lining of Lelouch's tails where they were pinned back. "He could be the Emperor, if he was older and wore a wig."

"Nothing so special, I assure you," Lelouch said, chuckling. "Just the new proprietor of this pub."

An older boy in the group snorted. "Not bloody likely," he said, laughing. "That place's belonged to Georges and Nancy since they swindled it out of Blind Nell for a pound and put her on the street."

"I'd stay away from Georges, sir," one of the smaller girls suggested timidly. "He's a bad man."

"Well, Georges doesn't scare me," Lelouch said cheerfully. _Anymore_, he added mentally.

His heels clicked sharply on the old wooden floor as he strode into the pub. Carefully untying his purse, he hefted it in his hand, listening to the clink of coins. As if summoned, Nancy walked into the room, drying her hands on her apron. "Georges, it's them kids again!" she called over her shoulder. "Standing outside and causing a ruckus!"

"Madam," Lelouch greeted, giving her a half-bow. She froze.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Georges, get down here!"

Georges stumbled down the stairs, face red with drink already. The Pig wouldn't open yet for another hour at least, but as usual, Georges was already soused. He peered at Lelouch, confused, before recognition set in. "Where'd you get that kit?" he asked. "Oughtn't you be paying rent before you go around dressing in all kinds of frippery?"

"I'm here to ask you to vacate my establishment," Lelouch said, dropping the heavy bag of coins to spill across the bar. "If there's any truth to the rumor, you'll have turned a tidy profit in the sale of this place, but no matter. I want you out."

"Now wait just a minute," George snapped. "You got no business--"

"Larry, darling," Nancy started, already scooping up coins from the floor. Lelouch shook his head. "Lyle," she tried. "Lou." It was close enough. "It wasn't all bad, was it? We had some good times, right?"

"Oh, yes, madam. Very good times, your husband pretending he'd lost something inside my bedclothes, me pretending he'd stop if I said no often enough, and you pretending it wasn't happening--" Lelouch cut off, looking at the guard who'd followed him in. The man's jaw was tight, knuckles white on the hilt of his blade. "You've heard nothing, of course, friend. Certainly nothing worth repeating," Lelouch told him, turning back to Georges and Nancy. "And you're both very fortunate for that. Why, if he _had_ heard something worth repeating, you might both be in a great deal of trouble!"

"Who do you think you are, coming in here to make baseless accusations like this and throwing money around like we're supposed to do whatever you say now?" Nancy demanded.

"Oh, I suppose you don't have to do anything I say, but you must remember that there are several people with a vested interest in what my friend here didn't hear," Lelouch warned. "Honestly, it's better for us all if you just go now."

"Oh, like these coins are even real. He's probably shacked up with an actor," at this, Nancy pointed to the guard, "or some nob's catamite."

"Of course," Lelouch agreed magnanimously. "But the fact of things remains that I have four guards and a bag full of coins that all say this establishment is mine now."

"And I've two fists that says it isn't!" Georges growled.

"Jail it is, then," Lelouch hummed sadly. The guard bowed stiffly and whistled, drawing in the other guards. "It's a pity it had to turn out this way," he told Georges and Nancy. "If you won't vacate the property, I'm afraid I'll have to have you removed. Gentlemen," he waved to the guards.

"Yes, your Highness," they chorused, saluting, and in seconds, it was as if Georges and Nancy had never been in the room. Sighing in pleasure, Lelouch strode over to the large windows that had always been covered up and tugged down the curtains, filling the room with dusty light. Shucking his coat and rolling up his sleeves, he set about cleaning the room from top to bottom.

The light slowly filtered into evening. When it was finally too dark to see if he was doing any good, Lelouch sat back, surveying the room. There was a knock at the door and he looked over his shoulder to see Suzaku smiling at him. "You've done a good job," Suzaku told him, dragging a white gloved fingertip across the bar's surface.

"I missed Gino's departure, didn't I?" Lelouch realized, frowning.

"It's okay. I'm sure he understands, and he'll be back soon. Just as soon as he can find Kallen and…I don't think he really knows what he's going to do then," Suzaku laughed.

"Celestine?" Lelouch asked, and Suzaku shook his head.

"Everyone knows a sailor's got a wife in every port, but those wives've got a man on every ship," Suzaku told him. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I'm glad. I'm just sorry I missed the chance to thank him for all his help. Rolo, too, and Rivalz," Lelouch said quietly.

There was a hiss of a match as Suzaku lit a lamp, setting it on the table in the center of the room. "You're going to miss the sea, aren't you?" the sailor asked.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Lelouch asked wryly.

Suzaku laughed, shaking his curls. "Not at all. Not if I've got you instead."

"Maybe one day, after everyone forgets I'm here, we can start a little shipping line, sail trinkets and baubles and all the comforts of home out to the farthest Empire," Lelouch suggested, tone dreamy.

"It doesn't matter what we do, to me," Suzaku agreed. "As long as one of those things is you kissing me right now." Grinning, Lelouch obliged, eyes drifting closed as he pressed his lips against Suzaku's smile. He murmured happy things into the embrace, feeling Suzaku's eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. They parted reluctantly, stealing kisses as they pulled away. When Lelouch's eyes opened, Suzaku looked like the fox in the henhouse. "Oh, I _do_ have good ideas, don't I?" Suzaku boasted, and Lelouch shoved him backwards to the floor.

"Want to try an idea or two of mine?" he asked the sailor, sliding up the length of his body temptingly. Suzaku groaned eagerly, arching against the narrow press of him.

"Oh, I'm sure any idea of yours will be a big success," Suzaku said breathily, hands already sliding behind the prince to ruck up his damp shirttail.

Lelouch beamed back cockily. "I do think it's a rather good idea, myself," he agreed, dipping his head to just barely trace his lips along the cupid's bow of Suzaku's upper lip. Suzaku leaned up to meet him and he drew back, a mock frown on his face. "Aren't we supposed to be trying my idea?" Lelouch scolded playfully, rewarding Suzaku with another kiss as he sank back against the floor. Suzaku's lips fell barely open as Lelouch let the tip of his tongue out, pressing soft, damp kisses to the generous curve of Suzaku's mouth. Their tongues touched; it was electricity.

Suzaku finally managed to get Lelouch's shirt off, tugging it over his head and up his arms to wad it into a pillow beneath Lelouch's head. The prince sighed, languidly drawing him down with a sleepy arm to bite at his jaw line; one narrow, fine-boned hand dipped into the back of Suzaku's breeches, cool fingers pressing him urgently against his own quickening erection. Suzaku rolled his hips and Lelouch made a breathy sound, quick little teeth nipping sharply at an earlobe.

"I want you," Lelouch rasped, curled clinging to Suzaku's frame. His knees were lifted, thighs splayed to fit the wider set of Suzaku's hips against him. Narrow hips rocked in wordless, helpless, unwitting supplication. Lelouch's breath held a hint of a relieved whine as the laces of his breeches went slack, Suzaku's fingers twined in them, stealing torturous caresses. Suzaku worked a gentle hand inside the tight, heavy fabric to gently lift him out, yanking the offending garment down until it tangled over Lelouch's boots. Lelouch kicked them off impatiently and Suzaku dragged the fabric away, leaving him bared from neck to toe but for the stockings the prince had smudged in the knee working. Suzaku watched him covetously until, cheeks pinked from giddy embarrassment, Lelouch squirmed.

Suzaku captured his knees with one in each hand, leaning in to kiss a stained kneecap. "You're beautiful. Every inch of you," he murmured, and Lelouch squirmed again, a hand coming up to toy with Suzaku's curls.

"Shut up," Lelouch commanded shyly, cheeks stained. He watched with dark eyes under fluttering lashes as Suzaku lifted his foot, lips brushing reverently against the arch. Suzaku kissed slowly, worshipfully working his way up to press his lips into the dip below the ankle bone, dragging his mouth up the inside of the calf with tiny wet licks to the fabric, leaving damp translucent dots where his mouth had been. Strong fingers pressed ticklish into the hollow of the knee, cupping the leg and hooking it over his shoulder to mouth wetly at the inner thigh just below the top of the stocking. Suzaku looked down. Breathless and expectant, Lelouch looked up.

The touch of his mouth against bare skin startled a moan from Lelouch as Suzaku gingerly rolled his stocking down, mouth following fingers until pale skin was marked with an even line of blossom-pink bruises. Lelouch shivered at the brush of stubble against his instep, breath shuddering as Suzaku carefully repeated the trip up the now nude leg, again hooking the calf over his shoulder as he marked love bites high inside the prince's thigh. He was so hard it was throbbing, a thin line of fluid stretching between the tip and his navel. Suzaku's breath ghosted over it as he moved to the other leg, peeling back the other stocking with as much maddening care as he dared. He was still working his way up the thigh when a hand on the back of his head suddenly pulled him down until his cheek rested against the jerking cock. Lelouch quivered like a plucked string, already dangerously close to the edge.

"I can't suck you like this," Suzaku told him finally, the warmth of his breath making Lelouch's skin twitch. "And you do want me to suck you, right?" Lelouch nodded so hard his whole body shook. Suzaku laughed, thrilled, and when Lelouch released him, fingers finally spasming as he forced them to let go, he took the flushed organ in hand. He'd barely touched it, just slicked the wet flat of his tongue along the underside to the head, when Lelouch was shoving him away. At Suzaku's curious look, Lelouch blushed and touched the swell of Suzaku's cock through his pants, arching prettily against the floor in a welcoming gesture.

"Changed my mind," Lelouch said, chest heaving for breath. Suzaku whimpered, unable to get his pants off fast enough before he remembered himself, slowing long enough to suck a finger into his mouth. Lelouch shook his head, waving vaguely at his coat. When Suzaku retrieved it, he found a small bottle of viscous liquid in the breast pocket and smirked, pulling the cork off with his teeth. Tipping it into his hand, he let it drip over the length of his cock before reaching down to press his slippery fingers against Lelouch's hole. "Fast learner," Lelouch praised cheekily, gasping as he was penetrated. Suzaku managed to thrust his fingers into the prince's body only a few times before Lelouch reached down and gripped his slick shaft in hand, guiding him. "Now."

They both cried out sharply as Suzaku sank in until they were pressed together. Sweat was beading up on Lelouch's forehead, slicking his hair against his brow. Suzaku couldn't bite back the beatific grin that threatened to split his face as he held himself still. "I love you," he blurted out, rocking out to thrust back in sharply. Lelouch moaned, urging him on with crossed ankles, eyes squinted shut in mortified bliss. "I do."

"I love you, too; now mo--!" Lelouch's head rocked back, voice dropping off as Suzaku took him in hand. He keened, mouthing Suzaku's throat and jaw until their mouths met and they were kissing. Suzaku's hand slipped along Lelouch's cock, and Lelouch broke away from the kiss with a low moan. "No, no!" he protested, nails clenching desperately into Suzaku's back as he trembled. Suzaku peered down at him concerned when, blushing furiously, Lelouch squinted his eyes and came, splashing wetness across Suzaku's shirt. His stomach quivered with aftershocks as he collapsed bonelessly against the floor. Frowning, he peered up at Suzaku with one eye. "I didn't want that to happen yet," he complained.

Suzaku laughed, leaning down to kiss him. "Mind if I keep going?" he asked, and at Lelouch's dismissive nod, he sank into a steady pace.

"Quit shaking me; I'm trying to sleep," Lelouch said, eyes closed. His lips twitched into a smile.

Suzaku chuckled, trailing a finger along the prince's slowly recovering erection. "And miss out on round two?"

"Well, if you insist," Lelouch said decadently, tipping his head back as Suzaku worked a particularly tender part of his neck expertly. He knew there would be a bruise there tomorrow, but he couldn't bring himself to care as Suzaku sucked hard on the skin, grunting little moans escaping as he buried himself inside his body.

"Oh," Suzaku mumbled, "Oh, I don't…I don't think I'm gonna be--" he whimpered, bumping his nose against the wet bruise forming on Lelouch's throat. "--able to make it," he forced out, hips juddering out of pace, "worth your while."

"C'mon, then," Lelouch coaxed warmly then, rocking back enthusiastically. "C'mon."

Suzaku sucked in a sharp breath, hunching forward to focus his thrusts. He groaned, lashes fluttering when Lelouch reached down, palming himself and pulling frantically. "God," he gasped, hips snapping forward as Lelouch offered a musky hand to lick and transferred the lubrication to his cock. "Oh my--"

Lelouch rolled his shoulders back, pumping himself with abandon as Suzaku came within him. Back bowed with tension, his knuckles bumped rhythmically against Suzaku's leaping abdomen, a low whine escaping as Suzaku finally shuddered to a stop, pulling out to slump tiredly next to him. Suzaku laughed at the squeak that escaped Lelouch as he covered his hand with his own, and it was seconds before Lelouch was coming again, cries echoing in the empty pub. Slumping haphazardly against Suzaku's arm, Lelouch felt his lids go heavy.

"Come on, get up," Suzaku said unconvincingly from his position flat on the floor.

"Nope," Lelouch replied, snuggling into Suzaku's shoulder. "Can't make me."

"You're going to sleep naked on the floor?" Suzaku asked, incredulous.

"Yes," Lelouch told him definitively, cracking an eyelid to stare balefully at him from his comfortable position using Suzaku as a pillow. "It's my bar. I can do what I want."

"I thought you wanted to clean the place up and open it for business," Suzaku said.

"We can do it tomorrow. We can do it tomorrow's tomorrow if we want to," Lelouch told him contentedly, lashes fluttering over sleepy eyes. "For the first time in my life, there's a list of tomorrows that I can fill with anything I want: cleaning, if I need to clean. Books. You. I can fill my tomorrows with you," he murmured, smiling contentedly, "and then all my tomorrows will each be better than the last."

Suzaku smiled, scratching his fingers through Lelouch's hair, swearing the prince was purring. Yes. He was looking forward to tomorrow.

---

_Last Chapter note: This chapter's title comes from The Parting Glass. Traditionally the last song sung in a set of Irish songs, it's a song of cheerful farewells that are less "goodbye" and more "'til we meet again". So...'til we meet again!_


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